Emerald Quest
by Mr. Mawkish
Summary: All sorts of things happen to the Master Emerald. Like having it be stolen. When Knuckles is thrown from the falling Floating Island to Mobius below, he (and Big) sets off on a quest to get it back - no matter the cost.
1. Prologue (Pilot)

Knuckles shifted himself slightly, sniffing at the thin atmosphere and staring out at the floating Sky Sanctuary as the Master Emerald glowed softly behind him. He'd been guarding the Master Emerald for years – every time Dr. Eggman or Rouge or some other evil force-thing stole it he'd go on a quest to get it back.

Such was life for the guardian of the Master Emerald.

Knuckles yawned, rubbing his nose with a gloved hand. He felt his eyes droop, and he fought to stay awake. It had been a fair while since anyone had touched, let alone stolen, the Master Emerald. It had gotten quite boring.

Suddenly, he heard a splash. His eyes snapped open, and his mind quickly became alert. He jumped atop the emerald, scanning the scene. All was quiet.

A bush beside him rustled in the wind. Knuckles dove at it, becoming tangled in the branches, until he popped out the other side to a calm, spring lake.

He stared around, holding his breath. Nothing.

Then, he heard the splash again.

Knuckles twisted around. "HEY!" He roared – but paused. A giant purple cat stared over at him.

"Oh…" Knuckles sighed. "Hey, Big."

The cat in question waved, then returned back to his fishing. A steel bucket lay next to him filled with all sorts of fish.

Knuckles went to leave, then stopped himself. "How did you get up here?"

"I walked." Big replied lazily.

Apparently satisfied with that answer, Knuckles returned to his post, and lay down under the sun. His back fell not against the emerald, but the cobblestone altar, and he sighed.

Knuckles blinked. Then he shot up.

_The emerald was gone_.

"Wha – hey!" He yelped, scanning the area. He lifted up pebbles and searched in the nearby bushes to no avail. He scanned the skies, hoping to catch a puff of smoke from an egg-mobile or a flap of a bat wing. Nothing.

The ground began to rock underneath his feet. Without the Master Emerald to support it, the Floating Island could not sustain itself. Knuckles felt gravity begin to pull him upwards, and his movements became more floaty.

All the while, Knuckles' panic grew and grew. He frantically pulled at weeds and grass, when a large purple mass slammed into him.

"Froggy!" Big cried, watching his flailing frog pal squirm out of his grasp yet again and plummet to the ground below.

"NOO….!" Knuckles cried. Soon, his vision went black, and he felt himself land roughly on the ground, the island long forgotten in his subconscious.

**Brand new story! This one's inspired by Yoshizilla's "Life at Pizza Hut" shorts, and I wanted to try and do it myself. So here's what will kind of be an episodic series featuring our favourite echidna, Knuckles! **

**Stay tuned, folks!**


	2. Episode 1: Awakening

Knuckles groaned, opening his eyes. He went to move, but found himself stuck – and in his panic, began to frantically wiggle free. Eventually, he broke free of his trap, sending mud scattering in all sorts of places.

"Ugh… where am I?" Knuckles muttered aloud, scratching at the mud that coated the back of his arms. He glanced around at the tall, tree-filled landscape. Then, the memories rushed back.

He threw himself around wildly. "The island! The emerald!" He yelled, before glancing up at the sky. Or, he would have, was it not blocked out by the thick foliage of the trees above. "B-Big!"

Only the echo of his own voice from hollowed out trees returned his call. Sighing, Knuckles trudged through the mud, hopping up onto a platform. A spring popped out, sending him flying up into the air – he got the better of himself, however, and thrust his hands forward, allowing the wind to catch his mud-caked dreadlocks as he began to glide through the air.

His hands hit wood – a tall wall that seemed to stretch on forever. As he fell back down to the ground, his eyes were greeted with a familiar sight. "Ah, a loop! It's been a while since I rushed down one of these…!" Knuckles chuckled, curling himself up. It was a move Sonic had taught him, back when they first met – and as he ripped his knuckles from the ground, he sped forward in a Spin Dash. Through the loop he went, sailing down until slamming on a spring. Feeling the air rush by him, Knuckles uncurled.

He belly-flopped straight onto a large mud-ball, being held up by the branches of background trees, sending him bounding backwards with a cry. Quickly, he thrust himself forward and began to glide, sifting through a small gap in the balls, and landing inside a hollowed portion of the trees.

"Where am I? I don't recognise this zone…" Knuckles muttered aloud, allowing himself to finally scan the surrounding area. Truly, it was a strange sight. But, now that he had paused, his mind wandered over to his missing purple cat friend, who he thought had fallen with him. "Maybe I'd be better off finding Big first… then I'll see if I can get out of here."

Knuckles turned around, heading through fallen, hollow logs and grabbing as many rings as he could, when the path stopped – he felt the air rush past him as he kept his pace, until he found himself in a wooden barrel. No time to think – the barrel practically exploded, sending him high up into the air.

Suddenly, at the peak of his rapidly rising height, Knuckles saw the big purple cat, staring off into the distance. "Big!" he yelled, but his words fell on deaf ears, and before he could glide he'd fallen back under the tree line and plummeted into the ground.

Or, he would have, had a small spring not caught him, giving him a final bounce before he roughly hit the wooden-planked ground. Knuckles waved his gloves to distance the birds circling his forehead and stared out onto the steel signpost – something that sent alarm bells ringing in Knuckles' head.

"I'm in one of the old zones…" he realised, spinning the signpost around with a free hand. Soon, Sonic's old black-eyed mug grinned happily back at him. "Really old… this was before Sonic's contacts."

He glanced upward – to his surprise, however, the zone continued past the signpost, to another set of spring-loaded steps. Knuckles blinked.

"But not old enough that there's one of those ring transfers…," Knuckles mused, before his eyes lit up. "Maybe rings could lead to special stages!... if they're not defunct, at least."

With nowhere else to go, Knuckles kept on his path, breaking open monitors and slipping through the empty zone. The lack of badniks didn't quite concern Knuckles as much as it would with Sonic or Tails – he'd simply assumed the zone was empty and ignored by Eggman as a failed plan.

However, his concern would be greatly increased when, as he uncurled out of a vertical shaft, he found himself slamming into another purple figure. He barrelled through them, and stood up in shock.

It was a weasel – a ten galleon hat atop his head and what looked like a gun in his holster, Knuckles quickly recognised him as Nack the Weasel, from those posters in Mirage Saloon. "Nack?" he asked wearily.

"Hey!" His voice was shrill, putting Knuckles on edge. "That's Fang to you, pal! What's the big idea?!"

Knuckles opened his mouth, but Fang beat him to it. "Ah, darn it! I thought this zone was abandoned! You're probably here for this beauty, hey?" Fang grinned. From his pack on his back he removed a shiny orange Chaos Emerald. Knuckles' mouth gaped as it glinted in the sunlight.

"Where did you get that?!" Knuckles roared. The last time Knuckles' had seen the orange emerald was when Eggman had duped him for the first time, where he'd continued to help until Eggman had brought the fight to the Floating Island, and he'd realised his true intentions. It was seeing the orange emerald again that Knuckles immediately realised where he had fallen – Meta Junglira Zone.

"Ah, ah, ah, you red brute!" Fang snapped, slipping the emerald back into his pack. "Finders keepers, losers weepers!"

Knuckles snarled and leapt at the weasel, knuckles clenched and spikes bared. Fang yelped, jumping back from the ground-cracking punch. "Oi!" He yelled. "Watch it! You almost hit me!"

"I'm getting that emerald, like it or not!" Knuckles responded as he swung another hook. Fang ducked, ripped out his gun, and fired. A cork zipped out of the popgun, blinding Knuckles, who now was making blind hits in hopes he hit something as his eyes stung.

Fang found himself on the receiver of two hooks and an uppercut, until he fell back into a mud-pit, his pack submerging itself. "Oh, look what you've done now!" Fang cried upsettingly. Knuckles blinked, rubbing his eyes and staring at the mud-pit himself. "$40,000 reward right down the drain!"

His vision clear, Knuckles grabbed Fang by the neck and held him up. "If I see you again, you're dead, got it?"

Fang nodded rapidly as he was thrown to the ground, and without any more banter he sped off into the woods.

Knuckles sighed, turning his attention back to the glimmering emerald. While yes, certain other emeralds were more prominent than the orange one, he was the guardian of the Master Emerald – and, he supposed, guardian of _all _emeralds.

He could see it shining in the mud, but he knew perfectly well that diving deep into it wasn't an option. How would he see? More importantly, he was laying in the stuff – swimming through something that thick would be far too taxing on energy.

Yet, Knuckles dipped himself into the mud. He shimmied this way and that, flinging mud here and there, trying to submerge himself into the thickness. Instead, he found himself stuck.

"Great." Knuckles muttered, until his eyes caught another barrel, hanging above the muck. Remembering Big, Knuckles grinned. He leapt out of the mud in a curled ball and dove into the cannon.

As the air rushed by his face, he flicked his wrists, catching the air and gliding comfortably over to Big's perch. As he landed, the purple cat turned and waved.

"How on earth did you get up here?!" Knuckles cried in confusion. Big simply stared ahead, placing a gloved hand on his chin. After a long pause, he answered, "I don't know."

"I – well, that doesn't matter now. I need your help."

"With what?" Big drawled. Knuckles sighed, feeling his frustration grow.

"Just… come down with me, okay?" Knuckles went to jump off into a smooth glide, but he stopped. "Uh, can you get down?"

Big nodded, pulling an umbrella out of his fur. Knuckles watched in amazement – he didn't even cry out when Big held him under his arm and slowly drifted down to the ground with the help of an umbrella. Together, they landed softly onto the wooden floor.

"There's a path there." Big pointed, carefully placing Knuckles onto his feet. "I saw a mountain off in the distance. Some big city a bit past it."

"Sonic's probably around there. Maybe Amy, too." Knuckles responded, trying to steady his composure. "He'll know what happened to the Master Emerald." Then, Knuckles growled. "Probably some dark plot with Eggman."

"Why does Eggman busy himself with stealing it?" Big asked, confused. "In my opinion, it's a bit of a waste of time to run around making plans."

"A waste of time?" Knuckles asked incredulously. "You're saying Eggman's plans is a waste of time?"

"I thought you didn't like his plans." Big replied. He shrugged nonchalantly. "I just prefer the calmer side of life."

Knuckles opened his mouth to say something but closed it. They stood in awkward silence until Big spoke. "What did you need help with?"

He shook himself into gear. "See that glowing thing?" Knuckles began, pointing at the orange glint in the mud. "We need to grab it. It'll guide us to the Floating Island and the other emeralds but I can't get it."

"Okay." Big responded, before daintily sitting himself down and casting his line out into the mud. Knuckles looked on in surprise.

"What are you doing?!"

"Getting the emerald."

"You're fishing for the emerald?!"

"Yep."

"In the mud?"

"Yep."

"How do you expect this to work?!"

"It will."

Suddenly, their bickering was broken by the tugging of the line. Big pulled back, listening to the string vibrate, until the hook exploded at the surface and a fish burst out of the mud. Sighing to himself Big plucked the fish off the hook and tossed it back into the mud, casting his line out once again.

Knuckles continued to stare.

"Can… can you teach me?"

Big continued to stare at the thick mud, his eyes unblinking. "Teach you what?"

"How to fish like that."

Big shook his head. "If you're going to learn how to fish, you start with plain water. Then, once you master the water, you can master other stuff. Like Chaos."

Knuckles shook his head, settling himself on the wooded mud-bank. "Chaos was mostly water though."

"And technology." Big replied, making a face. "But I suppose it doesn't matter now."

The rod pulled again. Big began to wind the line in, and this time Knuckles paid a little closer attention to his actions. Another fish, another loss at the emerald, and the line was cast out once more. Knuckles glanced around, but Big figured him out straight away.

"There's no water pools here. There might be some further ahead, but not here." He explained, and Knuckles simply scoffed, trying to regain his composure.

"It's not that. I'm just trying to spot the path you were talking about."

Bored, Big pointed towards a part of the forest that seemed to move backwards, rather than form an impenetrable wall. "Just there, I think." He added. The rod tugged – this time, the orange emerald splashed out from the mud, and Big felt a smile come to his face.

"Here you go." Big called, handing the emerald to Knuckles. The echidna blinked, then sent back a grin of his own as he stashed the emerald away.

"Thanks Big – I owe you one." The cat waved it away, and stood up, pocketing the rod.

"I'll come with you." He replied. "I lost Froggy when the island collapsed."

Knuckles nodded, and together the two headed off out of Meta Junglira Zone, off into wherever the forest took them next.

**Next time, on Emerald Quest - the pair find themselves in Jungle Zone, and after a well-deserved bath, Knuckles begins to make his way through the zone. Meanwhile, Big plots out a fishing lesson.**

**Stay tuned, folks!**


	3. Episode 2: Big's Fishing Quest

The path seemed to wind around, taking the pair out of the unhappy mud pits until Knuckles swore he could hear the sound of crashing waterfalls. His concentration was broken when Big spoke up. "Look."

Following the pointing finger of his friend, Knuckles could see the mountain they were heading towards – and just like before, its name completely escaped him. "That's a mountain alright – it isn't red or covered with ice, so I have no idea which one it is."

Big shrugged, meandering onwards. "I think you need to slow down."

"Not the right time for that, Big." Knuckles replied, following. "I've been in the slowdown for too long – have you seen these zones? They're built for speed, for Sonic. Does he slow down?"

Big didn't answer. Knuckles took that as a sign to continue, so he did. "It is my duty to guard the Master Emerald. And now it has been stolen. I have to get it back no matter what."

_So you failed_.

The words sat on Knuckles' mind. It was a horrible thought. But he ignored it, especially when Big began to speak. "If that's how you feel, then okay."

Silence befell the pair.

Soon, the path split apart, and they glanced around with wonder at the beauty of the water before them. Gleefully Knuckles jumped into the water, brushing off his quills and rubbing what he could from his back, drowning the caked mud and fluffing himself up. Big stood a far bit away, glancing around at the zone before him.

"It's a bit of a climb, this one." said Big as his gaze leapt around. Suddenly, something moving in the water caught his eye. "Look out!" he cried, hooking Knuckles on his line ("Hey! What's the big idea, Big?!") just before a robotic fish with a sharp, steel jaw line snapped at thin air, where Knuckles had been moments before.

"O-oh." Knuckles stuttered, watching the fish eyeball them from the water. He cut the string off of Big's pole, wincing as he removed the hook from his body. "Thanks. There weren't any in the Meta Junglira, I thought -"

Knuckles rambling was paused when he noticed Big's gaze. Following it he could see even more badniks further in the zone, from the close-call Chomper to the common Crabmeat. "Why are they active, though?" Knuckles asked. Big shrugged, but nodded to the platforms.

"I think this zone's at the edge of it." He explained. Knuckles raised an eyebrow.

"Edge of what?"

"The mountain."

"Oh."

After a pause, Knuckles jumped the first platform. "Coming?"

Big shook his head. "I'll make my own way over. Don't worry." Knuckles nodded, continuing upwards and dodging a Crabmeat's dangerous orb. The Chomper leapt from the pit, but couldn't gain enough height to reach the echidna, whom quickly thrust himself into a glide – he didn't trust the vines to hold his weight. They looked firm, yes, but still. If the badniks were active, who knew what other traps Eggman had laid ahead?

Soon the rushing waterfall came into view. Much like Angel Island, small platforms poked out, splashing droplets of water away from the falls. Hopping from one to the next, the next waterfall had a mechanical water wheel spitting away water. It seemed a bit off until Knuckles noticed the peeling paint – on further inspection, the details made it seem to look like fallen logs. "Smart egg." Knuckles mused to himself.

As the platform became flat, Knuckles jumped over, hopping every so often to avoid falling to his demise. Finally, he leapt into a glide, missing an arrow pointed monitor.

That same monitor was suddenly smashed to bits by a belly flop by Big, who was slowly making his own way through the zone. The water was deep in certain places, and he could see Blue Tangs and Discus' and all sorts of other tropical-like fish swimming around in the deep. One particularly bright Angel Fish had caught his eye – less for its beauty, but more for the fact it disappeared into thin air.

"Huh?" Big looked on, confused. The end of the zone forgotten, he moved into the water, following the disappearing fish. Chompers began to try and nip at his fur but the majority of them just seemed to bounce off, or if they did cause any pain Big certainly didn't acknowledge it.

Eventually, Big spotted a machine in the depths. Slowly, he slunk down to it, watching it robotize the fish for a moment. Then, he brought back a fist, and went to smash it.

His punch made the whole structure cave in on itself, and the fish quickly escaped, while the newfound Chompers turned to face their destructor. Big gazed at them in boredom, and as they rushed to attack, he easily slapped them away, freeing the fish inside.

As the lack of air began to get to Big, he left the commotion, swimming to the surface. He climbed up onto the grassy banks, shook off his fur, then jumped in shock as a large Chomper burst from the surface, glaring at him angrily. The platform became caked and covered with water, and soon the arena was set – Giga Chomper slipped back under the water, and Big, tracking it by its lights, prepared to fight.

Still standing, he flung out his rod, letting it drip below the surface. Twisting it around and reeling in the hook, eventually he caught onto the metal framework of his L.E.D eyes, and he began to reel. The beast let out a metallic screech, pulling as hard as it could to escape – but Big was stronger. Much stronger.

He pulled back until the beast ripped out the water, and with a firm rapid-fire attack of punches – Battering Ram – he stormed the 'bot until one of its eyes exploded, sending shards of glass and metal all over the place. Big shielded his eyes, and when he looked back, the string had snapped and the beast was back under the water. The water now rose to his stomach, and he could no longer use the rod effectively – he tied a new string and hook on the end of it, slipped it back into his belt, and (spotting a platform in the distance) took to swimming, instead.

Giga Chomper let out a roar, and Big could just about track it by one of its spotlights. Suddenly, the beast lurched upwards, and Big quickly rolled around. It barely missed his tail, as it snapped up its razor-sharp jaws and fell back into the deep.

Quickly, Big scurried over to the new platform, re-equipped his rod, and cast his line out. Yet again, he played the waiting game, watching the beast circle around. Suddenly, it bit down and before Big could reel him in, the string snapped under its jaws. It burst out from the water again, and Big fell backwards as it slammed into the platform. Dizzily, Giga Chomper slipped back down into the water, and that was when Big cast his line and caught his second eye.

One Battering Ram later, and the beast's eyes were smashed in. The spotlights off, the beast dove back into the water with a wave-filled splash. With no more platforms left, Big spotted a vine tied tightly around two log-thick branches. He began to swim, narrowly avoiding the jumping Giga Chomper.

Using his rod, Big pulled himself up to the vine, then yelped in surprise as the Giga Chomper's teeth snapped down on his tail. It fell below the water again, taking bits of Big's fur with it. The cat moaned in sadness, then glared at the water – for without the spotlights, it was very difficult to track it. He knew what to do.

Fixing his rod up once more, he threw it into the deep. This time, however, he made sure he was moving – until his rod hooked onto something hard. The pull from it was even worse. Big reeled in with all his might, fear growing that his rod might snap, until finally Giga Chomper burst from the surface, the hook barely hanging onto its gaping eye. Big let his fist fly, watching the Chomper finally explode into bits, the robotic shards of metal sinking to the bottom of the water where it belonged.

Sighing, Big fell backwards. He hadn't been expecting any conflict – let alone his tail. He massaged it gently, upset.

"Big!" He heard a voice call. He twisted his head, spotting Knuckles by the signpost. "Over here!"

Big stood up and jumped over to the platform, hoisting himself upwards. The echidna gave him a grin, then looked down. "Huh… was the water always that high?"

Big shrugged in response. So did Knuckles. "Oh, well. Guess it doesn't matter now."

He went to move forward through the zone but stopped. "Actually, the water is pretty high now," Knuckles began. He looked upwards. "and the zone seems to go up…"

"Have a seat." Big nodded. The pair sat down on the grass, staring out over the water. Big pulled out a bright green rod and handed it to Knuckles.

"It's already got a hook, just add some bait on the end, like how I do it." Big explained. He laid down his bucket of frozen shrimp, grabbing one and (from the tail) hanging it off of his hook. Knuckles followed.

"Now, when you go to swing, you want to flick this lever, see?" Big continued to explain. "Then," he brought the rod behind him, "you throw it forward, and flick the lever back in place after a few seconds."

The water splashed a little as the bobber sat upon the surface. "You try."

Knuckles grabbed the rod and pushed the lever back. Then, with much more force, he threw the rod forward and flicked the lever straight away, watching it hit the water.

"No, no." Big shook his head, pulling Knuckles' hands down. "Next time, be a bit more calm with it. Fishing is a patient sport."

"R-right." Knuckles stuttered, nodding. He turned to the water. "Now what?"

"We wait." Big stated. "Once the rod starts to tug, you want to turn this crank towards you. That'll bring the hook back in with whatever's caught on it."

"It seems a little flimsy, if you ask me." Knuckles complained. "Why don't I just pull?"

"The rod will snap and you'll lose the fish." Big sighed, moving his attention from the echidna to his own rod. "A lose-lose as Sonic might put it. Just be patient."

The two sat in silence for a moment longer. It gave Knuckles a bit of time to think, and Big to appreciate the zone a little more now that the fish weren't robotic. After a while, Knuckles' rod began to tug.

"I-I think I got something!" Knuckles cried. He began to pull at the rod, but remembered Big's explanation and began to reel it in instead. Slowly but surely the pulling became easier and easier until finally the hook emerged at the surface again, revealing a smallish parrotfish. Knuckles felt his jaw drop as he stared at it flopping about.

"Congrats." Big smiled. "Your first fish. Some people put it in a mantelpiece, you know."

"But… but it's so small!" Knuckles cried. "I've taken down much bigger threats than that and somehow reeling in that was more difficult?!"

"It's the water, and the sport." Big explained, his smile falling. "The water makes things seem a lot more tougher. You've got to remember that one, you can't see what you're doing, and two, you've never done this before." He turned back to his own rod. "I could fish in a volcano if I wanted to and still reel in fish." His own rod began to tug, and he gently began to reel in. On the end of Big's hook was a large trunkfish. "The more experience you get, the easier it will be."

"How come you got the bigger fish?!" Knuckles exclaimed. He began to stomp the ground. "This is stupid!"

Suddenly the ground began to crack and rumble under his feet. He stepped away, dropping the rod in surprise. "What?" he thought aloud.

That was the last thing he said as the ground caved in under him. The last thing he saw was Big's face of shock and surprise, then it all went black again.

**Next time, on Emerald Quest - After falling into Mystic Cave Zone, Knuckles uncovers a teleporting technology and a swallow who's very keen to get it. **

**Stay tuned, folks!**


	4. Episode 3: Watch Your Step!

The steel blue rail that Knuckles slammed into did nothing to help break his fall. In fact, it didn't even break, or bend, and Knuckles sat up groaning as he stared around at his newfound underground prison. Even worse, he recognised where he was straight away.

"Mystic Cave…"

The path ahead was dimly lit by a few lanterns, some of which had gone out and pulled the cave into total darkness. Knuckles tried to look ahead, but the light from the lanterns made it difficult to do so. He moved forward when a bridge crumbled underneath his feet, and he fell to the ground below.

Well, more-so he found himself curling up and speeding down a slope until he ran head-first into a set of spikes. In the darkness he spotted a bright blue handle, although caked in vines he pulled down on it and in the newfound light a bridge lowered over what had been a deadly spike pit.

Narrowly missing a Crawlton, Knuckles leapt up onto a lantern-lit platform and stared off at the vine before him. Remembering the previous bridge, he jumped over the next one and almost found himself crushed at a moss-covered piston. Opting to avoid it, Knuckles instead bounced on the red spring beside it, shooting up into the cave.

From there, the journey wasn't particularly daunting. For one, despite the Flashers and Crawltons none of Eggman's previous tricks seemed to be working. The crates that normally rotated were instead lying broken and worn on the ground, and the bridge above the spike pit had since caved in and instead provided a precarious drop to the rail below.

Jumping over another bridge, Knuckles found himself face to face with a much higher wall. Grinning, he jammed his knuckles into the wall, climbing up when a spiked booby trap prodded him off, and he fell in pain to the darkness below.

"This is crazy…" Knuckles muttered. The platforms that normally moved about were now defunct and missing, so (after searching through the leaf-ridden wall for any more spiky traps) he began to climb upwards, and thus quickly jumped up the booby trapped wall until he was safely at the top.

Slipping narrowly under the moss-covered pistons he darted across the rails, gliding over Flashers and sneakily-placed spikes. As he landed and kept moving forward, a spike trap caught him off guard and he fell to the ground below, where yet again broken planks littered the ground. Making his way carefully up the lantern path, Knuckles dropped to the lower path (as the way forward was seemingly blocked) and climbed the adjacent wall to another blue handle, opening the way forward.

Soon, the signpost had been spun. Knuckles grunted angrily – Sonic's old mug had started to get a little annoying.

"Well…" Knuckles pondered, staring out into the darkness of the zone. As his eyes adjusted, he swore he saw something purple. "Huh?"

Moving towards it, he was shocked and upset to find it wasn't Big, but a certain Babylon Rouge searching through the darkness, her Extreme Gear tied to her back. She seemed to be searching for something, and that searching put Knuckles on edge.

Suddenly, she burst out in laughter as she held up a Giant Ring – a defunct way of entering special stages. Growling, Knuckles burst from his hiding spot, catching Wave by surprise.

"Hey, what are you doing here?!" She exclaimed, throwing the ring into her pack. "Shouldn't you be guarding that floating rock?"

"Shut it, swallow!" Knuckles cried. "Hand over the Giant Ring!"

"Ah, so that's what it's called?" Wave mused. "All I know is a certain someone wants it, and that certain someone is going to get it!"

"What are you talking about?"

"How's about a deal, echidna?" She taunted. Plucking out of her pack and unfolding before Knuckles' very eyes was a Beginner board – an Extreme Gear. Wave pointed into the distance. "Green Cave is just over there – remember that? Beat me in a two-lap race and we'll see who gets the ring."

Knuckles grumbled, then grabbed the board. "Fine."

Wave laughed. "This is great! Not only do I get a handsome reward, I get to win a race too!"

"Don't get cocky." Knuckles muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

* * *

Soon, the two positioned themselves a bit away from the defunct electric goal line. Grinning from ear to ear, Wave began to count down.

"3," she began. Knuckles took a few steps back.

"2," Knuckles ran forward, throwing the board so he could jump aboard. Wave did the same.

"1, go!"

The race was on. The two darted down the ramp and burst off the top, performing crazy tricks that added to their air meters as they landed on a thick grassy vine. As Wave drifted around the first corner, Knuckles kept going until he'd smashed through a wooden plank, cutting off the S-shaped turn. The vines split apart as Knuckles took the lead – whilst Wave took the flight ramp (the quickest part through) Knuckles dove onto the leftmost vine.

The vine circled around and around and for a moment Knuckles feared he'd gotten lost, when a huge cave opening popped up round a bend. Knuckles shot through it, catching a ride on a huge millipede – when he jumped off at the next opening, he spotted Wave in the distance.

Smashing through another wooden plank and grabbing some grapes, he clicked the Extreme Gear's boost and shot forward. But the next jump Wave managed to get ahead – jumping onto a large web just above the first ramp and shooting out of the cave. Knuckles had to make another turn before bouncing off the webs.

As he burst from the surface, he could see the mountain close by. "I'm coming Big." He muttered, before falling back through the mossy greens and onto the final lap.

Watching as Wave made the turn easily, Knuckles decided a bit of unfair play was in order. As Wave darted through the newly created shortcut, Knuckles took the S-shaped turn and as Wave popped out the other side, Knuckles knocked her off her board with a well-placed hook.

Wave was out of commission, but not for long and Knuckles knew it. He shot off on the rightmost vine, keeping to the bright green path until the cavern came into view. Halfway on the millipede's journey another millipede caught a rider in a hole just above his own – Wave. The millipede spat them both out at the same time, in the same cavern.

Wave clicked her boost into gear and shot ahead, drifting on a ramp which Knuckles avoided. He swung another fist, but Wave dodged it and sped forward. This time, focusing on the jump, the two hit the webs (Wave first). As they plunged into the darkness, in a last-ditch attempt Knuckles clicked his own boost.

Just barely, Knuckles skipped across the finish line before Wave. After the ramp, he jumped off in victory. "Ha, ha, yes!"

"Cheater!" Wave cried. "Cheaters never prosper, I'm not giving you anything!"

"I beat you, both ways." Knuckles stated. "Hand over the Giant Ring."

Fearing another hook, Wave let out a disgruntled sigh and handed the ring to Knuckles, who quickly placed it down and walked through it, leaving it behind him. Wave blinked.

"If that's all he wanted," she muttered, picking it back up. "He could've just asked…"

* * *

The ring dropped him off in a special stage – Blue Spheres. Knuckles blinked, his eyes adjusting to the light. "Huh. I was expecting a half-pipe." He muttered to himself, beginning to walk forward. The stage's floor was coloured in light green-and-salmon pink squares, and the pattern was something Knuckles couldn't recognise. He headed down the path, twisting blue to red and hopping over bumpers. He found himself twisting on thin paths until, two rings later, he found himself on the next challenge – a split.

Opting to take the forward route rather than the bottom one, Knuckles continued to hop across bumper-scored paths until he found himself in a rather off predicament. The path crossed over itself several times and unfortunately Knuckles found himself on the wrong end of a blue sphere, and soon he'd teleported out and back into Mystic Cave with a bump.

Knuckles groaned, then jumped as the wall seemed to cave in. "Finally." A voice echoed. For once, Knuckles felt himself overcome with joy.

"Big!" He exclaimed, jumping forward out of the wreckage. Big blinked in surprise.

"Knuckles?" Big asked. "Were you waiting for me?"

"No, no." Knuckles shook his head, chuckling. "I had a lot of stuff happen, I just got here."

Big nodded but held a suspicious glance. "Right." Knuckles stepped through the wreckage, staring out into the mountain.

"So, this is it?" he asked. Big nodded.

"Yep. I found out the name too."

"What is it?"

"Polly Mountain."

**Next time, on Emerald Quest - The pair's journey continues through Polly Mountain. Will they ever reach the city?**

**Stay tuned, folks!**


	5. Episode 4: Battle For The Ring

The new cave Knuckles found himself in wasn't as dark as the last one. Big stepped back through the wreckage and grabbed a lantern, hanging it on the edge of his pole as the two moved forward.

Suddenly, a helmet-wearing bird burst out, tossing bombs this way and that. "Woah!" Knuckles cried, pulling back. "What – hey! What's your problem?!"

With a quick, hard fist the bird exploded as a much smaller flicky bounded happily about. Big gleefully played with it, as Knuckles glared onwards. "There's more of them." He stated. He cracked his knuckles and darted forward, blowing up the badnik before it could launch a single bomb. "C'mon, Big!"

Sadly, Big left the flickies alone, hopping up to a rising platform. Spotting the spikes above Knuckles timed himself just right so he could walk right out, with Big following suit. Another bird-badnik, this time with a flight visor on, stood at the edge of a spike pit. Knuckles growled – he could glide, but if this bird also threw bombs – he didn't want to be prodded again.

Big nodded. "Let me handle this." said he as he threw his rod. Catching the badnik by surprise, Big reeled him in and slapped it backwards.

"Hey, nice one!" Knuckles clapped, smiling. Big returned the smile, and the two continued over the spike pits, jumping over platforms and avoiding a grenade-throwing bird until all of a sudden a gust of wind threw them upwards, until they found themselves on the craggy mountain edge, staring out over the scenery.

After destroying a few more birdbrains Big stopped Knuckles from going any further. "What's up?" Knuckles asked curiously, until Big pointed out the cracks in the floor.

"Maybe it's a little worn?" Knuckles suggested, although he knew that to be false. Big leapt into the air and with a powerful belly flop smashed out into a hollow opening. Knuckles climbed down, glancing at the window of light ahead.

"Or we can do that. Yeah."

The wall ahead of them had two spike traps, and a grenade bird sat on top. "Big?" Knuckles asked. "Do you think you can help us up there?"

Big nodded, casting his line out and pulling the bot downwards. With the badnik disposed, he held Knuckles under his arm and reeled themselves up, until they were comfortably on the ledge, where the wind began to push against them. Worse yet, smaller platforms dotted with birdbrains awaited them.

Knuckles grinned. "Ready for a brawl?"

Big shrugged. "I'd rather avoid it, but oh well."

Helmets flew, flickies were freed and the duo hopped across the platforms, until they reached another crack in the floor. "If you would, Big." Knuckles moved out of the way. But when Big smashed through, he roared in pain, bouncing backwards and feeling tears rush to his eyes. Knuckles' eyes widened as he stared at the spike pit below.

Climbing down the wall, Knuckles ran over to Big. "Oh no… Big, are you alright?!"

"I'm… fine…" Big wheezed. It was at this point that Knuckles noticed his tail, and he winced.

"You've been through the wringer a lot, Big… this is my fault, I should've known…"

"No." Big stated, grabbing Knuckles' shaking hands. "This isn't your fault. Neither of us would've known about that pit."

"But… but your tail!"

"Is fine, it will heal." Big stood up, ignoring the pain. "Give it time."

Knuckles didn't give up. "No, we're not ignoring this. As soon as we get to the city we're getting you help."

Big didn't respond. Instead, he sighed. He knew there was no point in arguing it further. Knuckles nodded, satisfied, and the two carefully made their way through.

Suddenly, an explosion rocked them off the feet. Knuckles leapt up first, growling, but his anger was dropped when he saw the figures. "Bean? Bark?!"

"Oh, oh, looky looky here Bark! It's Knuckles!" Bean cried. He let out a shrill, annoying laugh, holding a thick black bomb under his arm. "Haven't seen you in a while! Shame the reunion's gonna have to wait!"

"What on earth are you talking about?" Knuckles asked, confused. Big slowly got to his feet, and Bean gave him a grin.

"Who's your fat friend, echidna-boy?" He chimed. Knuckles glared at him. "Betcha he's got nothing on Bark!"

"Get out of here, Dynamite." Knuckles growled. "I beat you both once, I can do it again!"

"You didn't beat Tails though!" Bean pointed out. "You lost, echidna-boy! I'm not interested in a rematch!"

"Why are you here, Bean?"

Bean's grin went from ear to ear. "I thought you'd never ask!" he cried. Bark, as if on queue, silently held out a Giant Ring, and for a moment Knuckles cursed his stupidity. He'd left the Giant Ring he won from Wave behind.

"There's a slick reward in there for us!" Bean chortled. "Lookatcha face! I bet you want it, don'tcha?"

Before Knuckles could issue a challenge, Bean stopped him. "I don't want to fight ya, understand, echidna-boy? I'm interested in your pet over there!"

"HE ISN'T A PET, DYNAMITE!" Knuckles roared in anger. "HAND THE RING OVER!"

Bean simply grinned. "Oh, did I hit a soft spot, did I? Hear that, Bark? Echidna-boy's got a soft spot!"

Knuckles growled, but as he went to attack Big held him back. "What do you want, then? You've got what you came here for." Big asked. His voice was slow and it made Bean laugh, pushing Knuckles on edge.

"There was no challenge, fat cat!" Bean taunted, lighting another bomb. "Let's put some fun on the table!"

The explosion knocked them off their feet and into the pit below. Knuckles fell back onto a speedboat, as did Bean, and Big and Bark landed in a boxing arena. "Canyon Cruise?!" Knuckles exclaimed. Bean only grinned, and the boats launched forward into the water. For a moment, Big stared confused at his opponent. It wasn't until Bark knocked him backwards with a firm punch did it actually register with him what was happening.

"BIG!" Knuckled cried, banging on the force field that blocked him off from his friend. Big stood up, and the next punch delivered to his gut he blocked, grabbed Bark's arm, and threw him backwards against the railing with such force rings practically exploded from him. Big jumped, thrusting his whole belly down onto Bark – the first bounce was successful, the second was blocked by a harsh uppercut, after which Bark slammed his fists into his head, sending Big to the floor with a horrid crunch. Knuckles screamed – Bean giggled.

Big rolled out of the way of another punch, throwing his fishing rod forward. As if by magic the hook lit up in flames, burning Bark's underside as he leapt forward, ramming himself into Bark and performing another Battering Ram. Knuckles cheered, whilst Bean's teeth chattered.

Finally, with the sound of a bell chiming, Bark fell to the ground unconscious. The boats drew closer and Big returned to his corner, reuniting with Knuckles.

"You did it, Big! You did it!" Knuckles exclaimed, hugging the cat. Big blushed.

"It was nothing, really." He replied bashfully.

"It's not over yet, love doves!" Bean cried. Bark had gotten back up, cracking his knuckles. "The cruise ain't over!"

"Ah! Big!" Knuckles cried as his boat swerved away, and the two fighters were left in the ring again. More prepared now, Big and Bark circled each other, staring the other down, waiting for the first move.

Bean growled. "If you ain't gonna fight, I'm gonna make you fight!" he roared, throwing a bomb into the arena. Big gasped, pausing to pull out his umbrella, and Bark took that as time to strike. He punched Big upwards, who was thrown backwards by the bomb, his umbrella completely destroyed.

Bark was a lot harsher with his punches. Each punch set Big rocking back and forth until finally, with a hideous snap, Bark threw him back against the mat. The bell rang again. Knuckles was practically in tears. Was this his karma?

"B-Big… Big, c'mon man…" Big opened his eyes blearily. He felt off. He brushed away Knuckles' tears with a gloved hand.

"Don't cry, Knuckles." He whispered. "It's not like you."

"It's my fault you're like this!" Knuckles cried. "I pushed you into danger, thrust you into hell and back… this is what I deserve, Big! Not you!"

Big, with all of his energy, stood up. "This is a best of three." He muttered. "I'll win that ring for you, Knuckles."

"I don't care about the ring, you dolt! I care about your safety!"

But Knuckles' words fell on deaf ears as the boats sped away again. Bark grinned. Big, for the first time in a while, snarled.

Once again, they stared each other down. Bean lost his cool again and tossed a bomb into the arena. Big didn't even flinch. He quickly threw the bomb towards Bark, who got hit out of surprise. He had no time to react – Big's fishing pole nabbed him, burning his rear as he threw Bark back and, with a final shot, went to punch him.

Bark ducked, giving back an uppercut. His flurry of close-quarter hand-to-hand combat sent Big crashing to the ground, but he got back up, narrowly avoiding another punch he resorted to ramming him over, belly-flopping on top and finally, he landed with a foot on his face, hearing the bell ring louder than the crack.

As the speedboats grew closer, the ropes fell and the ring slowed down, Knuckles ran on, cheering.

"Big, you crazy brute! I didn't know you had it in you!" Knuckles called, smiling. Big returned the smile, patting Knuckles comfortably.

"No fair!" Bean whined. "Rematch, come on!"

"No." Bark spoke up. The boat fell silent. "I accept when I've been beat." He held out a hand to Big. "Good game."

If Knuckles had been in the ring, he'd have beaten Bark's hand away. As much as he wanted to, it wasn't him who shook it. Big smiled at Bark. "You too. I'm not much of a fighter, but you were still a nice challenge."

Bark smiled, handing Big the Giant Ring. Bean looked back and forth, flabbergasted. "W-what are you doing?!" he exclaimed, confused. "That's a $20,000 cash prize you're handing away!"

"The doctor said there were 20 different Giant Rings, correct?" Bark argued, turning to face his partner. "20 Giant Rings and eight Chaos Emeralds. We'll just go find another one."

"Doctor?!" Knuckles cried angrily. "What does he want with the emeralds?"

Before Bean could stop him, Bark turned around. "I thought that's why you were fighting. He has the Master Emerald already."

Bean slapped a hand over Bark's mouth. "No, no! Stop, you idiot! That's too many spoilers!"

"I knew it." Knuckles growled. Big threw the ring onto the ground, watching it enlarge.

"It's probably best if you take your leave now." Big explained. "I'll deal with the fireworks."

Bark nodded, grabbed Bean and jumped into the ring. It shrank back down, and Big pocketed it into his pack.

"Why'd you let them go?!" Knuckles yelled. "I needed to know what Eggman's got planned!"

"You simply heard what you already knew." Big drawled. The boat came to a stop outside a pale white temple, and the two looked forward at the sudden bump. "Come on. I'm sure we're close."

Knuckles grumbled, and the two hopped off the boat.

**Next time, on Emerald Quest - What exactly has Eggman got planned? And what awaits them in Water Palace zone? **

**Stay tuned, folks!**


	6. Episode 5: Palace Problems

The duo stared around at the watery palace, its pale walls accompanied by bright silver fountains. The noise was ever-so-calming, and Big found himself sighing and glancing at the water that coated the floor for any fish. It was easier than the jungle – the water was crystal clear.

Knuckles himself looked around, taking it all in. "It's so… peaceful." he remarked. He looked back and gasped. "Apotos! Look, Big!"

Big, his focus lost, followed his excited finger. "What's Apotos?"

"It's a small village on the water – they'll be able to help you!" Knuckles cried. He placed a hand on the pristine glass window. "Maybe it's just through this temple."

Big shrugged. "I can't see any fish."

"It's probably because the temple was man-made."

"Oh."

Big turned around, spotting an interesting bit of his own. "Is that a ramp?"

Knuckles turned around. "It is, actually. One of the Advance models." He grinned. "Looks like we're racing through this zone."

Big sighed. "I'm not one for speed, Knuckles."

Knuckles scoffed. "'Course you are! I saw you keeping up with Amy in Grand Metropolis – I know you like the slow life, but right now we need to get you help!"

"What do you suggest, then?" Big asked. He already knew the answer, but listened for it anyway.

"Follow me!"

After taking off from the ramp, Knuckles thrust into a glide with Big using a spare umbrella to glide across the chasm. They landed on top of a bronze manhole, and Knuckles tapped it impatiently with his foot. "How does this work?" he wondered aloud. Suddenly a gush of water shot out of it, sending Knuckles flying wet into the air. Big blinked, then followed suit.

"Ugh!" Knuckles whined, shaking off the excess water. "It's freezing!"

Big didn't respond – instead, he slammed a fist over Knuckles' head, destroying a badnik who'd prepared to attack. "Care less about the water and more on what's happening around you." Big commented, pulling his fist back. Knuckles rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"R-right."

As Knuckles ran around the next loop, Big jumped just before a large water slide, gliding gently to the next platform whilst Knuckles found himself coated in freezing cold water once more. He broke the Egg Lancer into bits, and ran forward into the water, Big close behind.

The water dropped them off into a small temple pathway which had since been registered under water. The two followed it through, dodging bombs until they burst out the other side. Running through the huge loop, Knuckles began to climb the next wall whilst Big slowly traversed the platforms behind him, reaching the ledge just as Knuckles finished off another Egg Lancer.

Running through the bigger loop, Knuckles bounced off a spring and began to grind the rails – meanwhile, Big cast his line out and reeled himself up the edges, destroying any badniks that happened to get in the way.

Knuckles had moved his focus to twists and turns of the zone – so much so, that he'd begun to leave Big behind to figure his own way out. He turned this way and that, spinning underwater windmills and bouncing off springs until he sped through a Giant Ring – and just like that, he vanished.

Meanwhile, Big had made his way to the goal, his head featuring a bright purple bruise. He sat down upsettingly by one of the pillars, wiping away his tears. "M-maybe he did it on accident?" he muttered to himself, trying to keep himself positive. But his heart was drawn down by guilt, and his spirit shattered.

Suddenly, the Giant Ring materialised only to throw Knuckles out, before it vanished. He stood up, rubbing his head. "These Blue Spheres are way harder than before…" he muttered, before he noticed Big's presence – and, more importantly, his recent injury.

"Big?! What happened?!" He exclaimed. Big looked up at him, his eyes hurt, forcing Knuckles back.

"What do you mean, what happened?" Big whined. "You did this to me!"

"W-Wha – Big, I wouldn't dare do that!" Knuckles felt his own heart hurt, and he tried to move closer. His heart then shattered when Big twisted himself away.

"I saw you do it! Why do you lie to me?" Big sniffled. "I thought we were friends… fishing buddies…" he muttered, trying to hide his tears.

Knuckles went to speak, but he found no voice. He felt cold inside. Did he do that? He certainly didn't remember… maybe it was an accident? Yet, Knuckles didn't want to admit to something he was sure he didn't do.

Without a word, Knuckles walked away, leaving his cat friend behind. Something happened, but he wasn't sure what, and he certainly didn't want to play with Big's emotions until he found out who.

_What if it was you?_

Knuckles shook his head. "Shut it." He muttered to himself. He didn't do it. He knew that. He was sure of it.

_But it was you. What will you do now?_

He grinded his teeth together. "Go away."

_You know it's true._

"I SAID GO AWAY!" Knuckles roared. He panted angrily, but felt his whole body freeze when Big spoke up.

"If t-that's what you w-want."

"No, no, no, Big, I wasn't talking to you, I…" Knuckles stammered. But the cat had already gone to leave, looking into the water. The echidna turned his head away, feeling even worse.

Suddenly, the cat yelped and ran over to him. "Woah, Big, what's…" Knuckles cut himself off when he looked up. His blood began to boil, and his surprised gaze turned into one of pure anger. "You." He stated coldly.

For there in front of them was a robot, much like Sonic's counterpart.

Metal Knuckles.

The bot's emerald eyes flickered on their display, and it floated for a moment. Then, it began to glide forwards, and missiles propped themselves up from its body, ready to fire.

"Run!" Knuckles cried, but Big needed no encouragement. The two sped off as Metal Knuckles chased them down, until he was soon in front of the pair. From there, he swooped down in a glide, spikes bared.

Before he could harm Big, Knuckles handed the robot a swift ground-shattering punch, sending him smashing into the ground. The two jumped over him, watching the ground crack under their feet.

Buzzing and beeping, Metal Knuckles took to the sky again, firing more missiles. The two dodged this way and that, trying desperately to avoid the explosions, until Metal Knuckles swooped at them again. Feeling the pattern, Knuckles hit him again, just as they exited Water Palace into Apotos' temple.

The two came to a stop in front of the lighthouse, and the bot did too. High above them, he continued to fire missiles, when his hands detached from his body and hung from wires, swinging back and forth. Big fell, trying to avoid it, and just as it was about to pierce his stomach one more…

Knuckles leapt in front, hissing through the pain. The spikes seemed to sit there before Knuckles rocketed upwards and his metal counterpart slammed him back down into the ground. Big watched the conflict unfold, a realisation coming to him. Pulling out his rod, he called, "Knuckles, get ready!"

The echidna looked up just in time to see Big cast his line out again, catching the robot and pulling him down. Knuckles jumped to his feet, wailing on the bot, until finally it buzzed once more and fell apart. The battle was over.

The duo fell backwards, panting. The grass was scorched, the palace destroyed, but the pain was everlasting. Wincing, Knuckles waddled over to Big, helping him onto his feet.

"Come on, friend." He whispered, leading him towards Apotos. "It's time for you to rest."

**Next time, on Emerald Quest - As Big rests in a village clinic, Knuckles stumbles upon two very old but good friends. **

**Stay tuned, folks!**


	7. Episode 6: Meet and Greet

Knuckles wandered around the eggshell-white cobblestone paths of Apotos, taking in the beach-like area and the frosty mist of the ocean. It almost reminded him of Neo Green Hill – just without the lush palm trees and energetic forest.

He'd left Big behind at a local clinic, in which the people had rushed the cat away from his dangerous arms and left him behind, panting and hissing and wanting nothing more than to be back on the Floating Island, resting on the Master Emerald with only the sounds of the animals to keep him company.

Then, he'd found a place to rest his head. Now, as the morning sun shone over the classic Windmill Isle his stomach grumbled in pain – food was a necessity. Maybe he could buy Big another umbrella to replace his spare one. Thank the heavens he even carried spares.

As he glanced over a map of the place (situated near a very popular ice-cream vendor) Knuckles spotted an advertisement for a fairly small café. Feeling his stomach growl, he nodded to himself. _That'll do._

The café was fairly busy for a morn – whilst Knuckles didn't quite enjoy coffee as much as the locals, he was happy to order a small tea with some basic eggs-on-toast. His stomach reminded him of the missing of lunch and dinner, something he'd ignored a little when he was faced with Wave, Bean, and his Metal counterpart.

Gently pouring the tea into a small mug, Knuckles poured in the milk, watching the tea's clear surface become cloudy and the milk tainted to an orange hue. He sprinkled in the brown crystallised sugar pieces, stirring the mixture together with the provided antique teaspoon. A quick taste made Knuckles' tastebuds melt and burn at the same time. Perfect taste, still not quite warm.

For a moment he sat there, taking in the ocean breeze, humming a soft celebratory tune he remembered from somewhere, someplace. To someone else looking over, it simply looked like he was enjoying himself.

In reality, he was trying to drown himself out.

_You failed_, he'd heard them say. _You hurt your friends, you failed your only goal in life multiple times, and in the end you need other people's help to do anything right._

_Face it_. Knuckles hummed a little louder. _Don't ignore it. You. Are. A – _

Knuckles cut the voice off, shaking his head. "That's not true." he muttered to himself. But in his heart – his spirit – he wasn't sure.

Yes, this wasn't the first time Dr. Eggman had taken the Master Emerald. He'd done it before, the first time Sonic landed on the Floating Island. He didn't count Chaos as the second time, mostly because he broke the emerald and Knuckles had to go on a fetch quest (thrice, in the end) to gather them all up. And it wasn't just Eggman, either – Knuckles remembered all too well Imperator Ix and Nega.

Was he really cut out for guardian?

"Of course I am." Knuckles muttered. "I can't do anything else."

His breakfast was served to him whilst he sat rolling in his thoughts. He thanked the waiter, digging into the heavily-buttered sourdough toast and the creamy scrambled eggs, washing it all down with swigs of well-constructed tea. Then, Knuckles' thoughts were shattered when a young family spotted him.

"Mr. Knuckles!" a young rabbit called, running over to the barriers that blocked off the covered café. "It's so good to see you again! What're you doing here?"

"Cream, don't go running off like that… oh, Knuckles!" Vanilla exclaimed. "I heard about the Floating Island. Are you quite alright?"

"You heard?" Knuckles asked, confused. He finished off the last of his breakfast and waved for the bill.

"Yes, apparently it landed in a mountain base of Dr. Eggman's." Vanilla explained, smiling. "At least, that's what I've gathered from Tails."

"We're here on vacation!" Cream cried happily. Knuckles chuckled, ruffling the young rabbits fur. A beeping made him shoot his head upwards, staring in shock. Vanilla, noticing his gaze, gently squeezed Knuckles' shoulder.

"It's alright, Knuckles." said Vanilla. "Tails reprogrammed G-merl to be a much more kind-hearted and supportive robot. He's very protective of Cream."

Knuckles nodded, but his tenseness didn't falter. "I had a lot of bad run-ins yesterday. If that robot tries anything at all, I'm not going to hesitate."

Cream tilted her head, confused. Before she could ask anything, Vanilla beat her to it as Knuckles exited the café. "Well, you didn't answer my daughter's question. What are you doing here?"

"When I fell from the Floating Island, Big came too." Knuckles explained. "He's been heavily injured with the amount of stuff we've had to deal with – I'm a strong echidna, I'll pull through it, but Big's not used to this kind of stuff, you know?"

"So where's Big?" Cream asked, her eyes lit up like firecrackers. Knuckles smiled.

"I think visiting hours are now, actually. Maybe you'd like to pay him a visit?"

"Oh yes, please!" Cream begged. Vanilla raised an eyebrow.

"While we do that, I'd like to talk to you, Knuckles." She stated sternly. Knuckles glanced over at the elder rabbit and scoffed.

"I don't see what there is to talk about, but alright."

* * *

"Big?" a man with a white lab-coat entered the room, grabbing the purple bandaged cat's attention. "You have visitors."

Big nodded. "Okay." He expected to see Knuckles, asking him how he was and if he was ready to continue. Instead, he felt his smile widen as the young rabbit ran into the room, giving him a tight squeeze that only barely reached his hips.

"Big?" Vanilla asked, wincing at the bandages that coated Big's head, tail, and chest. The cat looked up, still smiling.

"Yes, Vanilla?"

"It's probably too much to ask, but I need to have a short chat with Knuckles. Could you watch Cream for me?"

Big let out a low, but happy laugh. "You don't need to ask, Vanilla! I'm more than happy to reunite with Cream for a while."

Vanilla nodded. She motioned for G-merl to follow, and Knuckles sighed.

"Did you do something wrong?" Big asked. Knuckles shook his head.

"If I knew what I did, I'd tell you, Big." he said, sighing. "You rest up, okay? I'll buy you a souvenir before we leave – I've got enough rings."

"A new umbrella would be nice." said Big. "My spare's not as good as my old parasol."

"Your umbrella broke?" Cream asked, innocently. "What happened?"

Big waved to Knuckles. "You go on ahead, Knuckles. I'll stay and keep Cream company."

Knuckles nodded. "Alright."

Vanilla was waiting for him outside, with a disapproving look in her eyes. The sixteen-year-old echidna felt himself shrink under the parents' eyes, like he was a child that had done something wrong. They stood there in silence for a moment, before Vanilla let out a long, drawn out sigh.

"Why do you push yourself so hard, Knuckles?" Vanilla asked, exasperated. Knuckles looked at her, as if she was from a different planet.

"It's my job to guard the Master Emerald. If anything happens to it, it's my duty to protect it."

"And where is it now?"

"In the hands of Eggman…" Knuckles muttered under his breath. But Vanilla heard it all. She coaxed the echidna away from the door and down one of Apotos' many streets.

"You know there are ways to protect the emerald rather than forcing yourself to endure everything for it." Vanilla explained. Knuckles only huffed, but before he could respond, Vanilla continued, "I understand your dedication to the job, and really it is quite remarkable, but I do believe you need some time to relax."

"I can't relax, Vanilla." Knuckled groaned. "The Master Emerald is being used for some evil purpose – if I don't rescue it, then the world's in peril!"

"Calm down, Knuckles." Vanilla ordered. "You're so tense you could practically split the planet apart."

Knuckles fell silent. Vanilla sighed.

"Once you do get the emerald back, what then?" she asked. "You need to find love, Knuckles – start a family, or even adopt. When you do eventually pass, who's going to protect the emerald?"

Knuckles didn't answer.

"Or better yet, find a way to protect the emerald now." she explained. "Talk with Tails, or any of the other friends you have. Do some research, perhaps."

"I'm not gonna turn the Floating Island into a Floating Fortress." Knuckles grumbled. Vanilla rolled her eyes.

"I'm not saying you have to."

The two walked in silence, before Vanilla spoke up again. "Speaking of Tails, would you like a lift? I heard he was flying around and helping Sonic in between zones, I'm sure he could spare a bit of time to take you around."

Knuckles shook his head. "Eggman's trying to get his grubby hands on powerful relics from the other zones – if he gets any of them, the world's doomed. No, I'd rather make my own way to the city, for now."

Vanilla pursed her lips. "I'm assuming you mean Station Square. Do you know how to get there?"

Knuckles scoffed. "Of course I do!"

"No you don't." Vanilla stated, sighing out of irritation. "Listen - outside of here is Sylvania Castle Zone – from there, you can cut through the ruins that surround the Chemical Plant."

"That's pretty close to Station Square, isn't it?" Knuckles wandered aloud. Vanilla nodded.

"Yes – usually, it's a quick trek across Route 99 and you're there."

Finally, Knuckles sighed. "I don't know what to do, Vanilla." he began, trying to hide his whimpering. "I mean, look at what my carelessness and focus did to Big! I… I don't have anything to do other than guard the emerald. If I couldn't do that, I don't know what I'd do instead!"

Vanilla gripped Knuckles' shoulders, massaging them. "There's no need to get in a panic." she stated calmly. "We'll figure it out. Together. I promise." She held up a pinky, and Knuckles rolled his eyes, wrapping his own finger around hers.

"Promise?"

"Yes, I promise."

"Can I promise too?" G-merl spoke up. Vanilla laughed, and Knuckles couldn't help as well. Her laugh was contagious.

"Of course, G-merl, you can promise too…!"

* * *

"The doctor said you're free to go, Mr. Big!" Cream exclaimed. Big rubbed his head, which was mostly healed.

"I suppose that's all well and good, then?" He smiled. Cream giggled.

"Big, you don't have to come with me if you don't want to." Knuckles protested, but Big simply shook his concerns off with a wave of his hand.

"No, I think I will." Big replied. "Someone's got to keep you out of trouble."

Vanilla and Cream giggled, and Knuckles rolled his eyes, embarrassed.

"Oh! Before you go, I have a gift for you, Mr. Knuckles!" Cream exclaimed. She handed the echidna a small red chao, with a similar crescent-shaped birthmark on its chest.

"O-oh…" he muttered, his blush deepening. "T-thanks, Cream."

Cream grinned. "You can call him whatever you want!"

"Chao?" The chao looked up at his new owner, a question mark forming on top of its head. Slowly, it fluttered its wings until it was able to perch itself on his shoulder.

"You better think of a name, Knuckles." Vanilla spoke between giggles. "It's taken quite a liking to you."

"I-I'll think of one." Knuckles stammered. Finally, the now-trio waved goodbye to the family, continuing down the road towards the old castles.

"Oh, before we go back to rushing through stuff, here." Knuckles handed a newfound large, flat lavender-coloured parasol to Big, who took it from him, smiling.

"It's perfect."

"Thanks. I knew you'd like it."

**Knuckles now has a pet - but how would YOU like to name it? If you think you've got a great name for Knuckles' new Chao, send it over in either a Private Message to my profile, OR leave a review stating what the name you've thought of is!**

**Stay tuned, folks!**


	8. Episode A: Vanilla's Conversation

Cream and Cheese rushed happily around their hotel room, jumping on the beds with glee as the moon hung lightly over the ocean. Vanilla sighed, dressed in a nightie, while G-merl tried his best to coax the excited child to bed.

"Thank you, G-merl." Vanilla said, smiling at the robot. The robot looked over at the mother, his eyes turning a cooler shade of blue.

"It is of my programming, Ms Vanilla." G-merl buzzed, stepping away from the bed. Vanilla reached out and caught Cream mid-jump, sighing.

"Come now, Cream, it's time for bed." Vanilla ordered in a sing-song tone. Cream couldn't help but yawn, although she protested, "I'm not tired..!"

Vanilla giggled. "Come on, you can play all you want tomorrow, I promise."

Cream sighed. "Okay…" Vanilla lifted up the covers, allowing the rabbit to clamber under them, her chao nuzzling into her from the pillow. She gave the younger rabbit a peck on the cheek.

"Goodnight, Cream." She whispered. Cream smiled, yawned once more, and closed her eyes. G-merl looked on in amazement.

"How do you do it, Ms Vanilla?" he asked, his voice much quieter.

"It's the mother's charm, G-merl. You go recharge now, I need to make a phone call."

G-merl nodded, returning to the portable charging station Tails had made especially for them. As he powered down, Vanilla picked up the cordless hotel phone, wandered out into the balcony, and typed out a number into the keypad. After a few rings, she heard the phone being picked up, and found herself being greeted.

"Hello, Tails!" Vanilla greeted back. "Yes, yes, all is well, G-merl is doing fine and so is Cream… yes, the vacation's been lovely! You really know some great hotspots!

"Mmhm… ah, really? He's gotten lost, has he? That's not good… I'm sure you'll be able to do it, yes…

"Listen, though, I did mean to tell you something. I ran into Knuckles today – yes, Knuckles! – and he was Big, all bandaged up, the poor thing… oh, you know how he is, arrogant and Mr. independent as always… no, he seemed a bit off, though…

"I don't know what's wrong with him, I offered to call you earlier to give him a lift to Station Square, but apparently he knows what Eggman's up to and decided to take the long way through Chemical Plant… yes, he said something about 'powerful relics' in the 'other zones'… hm… right, right…

"Well, I just wanted to know if you could check up on him when he reaches Station Square, make sure the two of them are alright… oh, if it's too much trouble to you, don't worry… you will? Oh, thank you Tails!

"Yes, yes, it's night here, so I'm just making sure everyone's off to bed… no, no, it's no trouble to me at all, don't you worry… yes, all good. I'll see you next week, okay? Alright… goodbye!"

Vanilla hung up, satisfied. "At least I'll know he's safe. I'll keep to my promise, Knuckles, don't you worry."

After placing the phone back in its resting place, Vanilla snuggled into her own motel bed and yawned. Finally, she too fell asleep, wandering into the dreamland of the night.

**Next time, on Emerald Quest - Our trio of heroes make their way to Sylvania Castle Zone under Vanilla's directions, but a certain doctor is awaiting their arrival...**

**Stay tuned, folks!**


	9. Episode 7: The Cousin

**Congrats to Cameron McIntyre, for naming Knuckles' chao! On with the show!**

As the sun set, Knuckles smashed through the ruins of the old castle, with his chao just holding on to his dreadlocks as Big ran behind him, slipping through just as the castle crumbled behind him. The ramp dipped down, until it curved upwards, throwing them into the air before they plummeted to the water below with only a few seconds to catch their breaths.

Not the chao, however.

As soon as the trio entered the water the chao began to choke, blinking rapidly and trying its hardest to flutter its wings. Knuckles panicked, but was careful not to open his own mouth. Big grabbed the chao from Knuckles and held him over a bubble blower, and soon the chao had his mouth closed and his eyes open, happily safe from the water from now.

Now, presented to them was a wall – incredibly tall, and with slower movements made climbing it a chore. Big watched Knuckles go, then began to swim upwards, pulling himself to a ledge and staring up at another, spotting some monitors upon it.

Knuckles burst from the surface, and the pair took a deep breath in, following Big's gaze. "What's up there?" he asked, unable to see himself.

"A few monitors." Big muttered. "I don't know if they'd be useful or not."

Knuckles glanced into the watery pit below. It looked like a dead-end. "There could be a path up there." said he as he handed the chao to Big. "Go have a look, the two of you. If there's a bubble shield, give it to Kevin."

Big raised an eyebrow. "Kevin?"

"You told me to name it, so I did."

Big only nodded, supressing a chuckle. He threw his rod forward, and as Kevin rested comfortably in amongst his ears, reeled the two of them in above the ledge. He frowned, turning around to call back to Knuckles, "They're empty."

"Empty?!" Knuckles roared. The platform was too high for Knuckles to simply glide up and see for himself, so instead he thrashed the water angrily. "How can they be empty?!"

Big only shrugged. Kevin didn't move. "Hold your breath, little one." Big whispered. Kevin nodded, gulping up air as the two dove into the water below. Growling, Knuckles took a breath himself and followed suit.

He found himself being blown forwards by a water jet, and glimpsed with blurry eyes Kevin sucking up a bubble. The chao fluttered back over to Knuckles' dreadlocks, and the trio continued to move forward.

Another water jet caught them off-guard, and Knuckles found his nose clogged, and he felt the urge to cough and splutter – Kevin was first to do, and at the next bubble blower Knuckles put Kevin in priority.

Big looked over worried. Knuckles gave him a thumbs up as Kevin settled back into his dreadlocks, but Big wasn't convinced. It wasn't until Knuckles ran forward that Big gave up and began to follow.

His dizziness led to Knuckles missing the oncoming wall, sliding stupidly down it further into the watery depths. Big, worried for his friend, raced down – for his fear was the lack of air Knuckles was allowing for himself.

A few Chompers surged themselves forward, catching Knuckles by surprise. He yelped, and that was when water filled his lungs. He coughed and spluttered, his eyes growing red, catching Big by alarm.

_Five…_

Knuckles began to thrash, trying to swallow onto any air he could, and becoming more crazed as water continued to fill his lungs. The shock scared Kevin, who also swallowed in water – but the chao had learned where to find the bubbles, and flew off to get more air.

_Four…_

Knuckles pounded on the roof, trying desperately to dig through or form some sort of bubble. Big couldn't use his rod, and so he found himself wading slowly through the water, grabbing an air bubble on his way.

_Three…_

Suddenly a water jet pushed Big away from the drowning echidna. The cat grabbed Kevin and was forced to watch as Knuckles slowly became weaker in his movements.

_Two_…

The echidna was alone. His vision began to darken. Slowly, Knuckles fell to the ground, clambering across the floor for a cat's tail. He would never find one.

_One…_

He gave up all hope. Spluttering the last of the water and inhaling much more, Knuckles closed his eyes, tired.

_Zero._

Knuckles' eyes snapped open as a bubble entered his mouth.

All at once his energy was restored, and he leapt to his feet, staring around in a frenzy. It wasn't until he spotted the water jet that pieces of his fragmented memory began to stick together.

The jet shot him upwards towards a set of springs, and soon he burst from the surface, taking in such a huge gulp of air he almost choked. Knuckles landed roughly on the platform, coughing and dry-heaving. Suddenly a large yellow gloved hand picked him up, placed him upright and began to roughly pat him on the back.

"Don't do that. Ever." Big ordered, staring at him as if he were a parent disciplining his child.

Between coughs, Knuckles responded, "Kevin had more priority."

"Kevin knew where to get air. You needed it more and there were plenty more bubbles throughout that area."

Knuckles didn't answer.

Finally, he stood up. Big helped him to his feet, and Kevin nuzzled his owner, fear evident in his face. Knuckles sighed, giving the chao a light pat. "I'm fine, I'm fine… come on, we have to keep going."

Big watched him go, frowning. "You can't keep doing this…" he muttered, sighing. "At this rate you'll kill yourself – and if not you, others will perish."

Knuckles didn't hear these words – he was too busy climbing up a wall as the water began to rise up to him. Meanwhile Big had reeled himself over, watching it rise with curiosity. As Knuckles joined him on the ledge, he noticed something interesting.

"Hey Big." He began, trying to look under the grassy platforms that sat upon the ocean's surface. "Do you think you can flip those?"

"Huh?" Big asked, confused. Still, he shrugged, using his rod to catch the end of it and pulling back. Much to Big's surprise, underneath the platform was a huge spring. Knuckles grinned.

"Well, it saves me climbing up all the way. C'mon, Big!" he exclaimed, bouncing up on the spring with Kevin barely hanging on. Big rolled his eyes comically and reeled himself up to the ledge instead. By the time he'd gotten up there, Knuckles was nowhere to be seen. He groaned.

"There better not be another fake Knuckles…" he muttered, wandering on forward at his own pace. After crossing a lovely cobblestone bridge and having a poor run in with some badniks when a spring launched him off into them, he found a pit practically littered with springs. As he hopped down, he found Knuckles and Kevin panting, laying flat on the ground.

"Did the springs catch you?" Big asked. Kevin nodded.

"Give me a minute." Knuckles whispered, trying to catch his breath. Eventually, he stood up – but not in the way he expected. Water began to pour in, and the trio quickly took a breath and began to swim. The water rose and rose, until finally it stopped at a ledge. Big flipped the spring-loaded platform over, and the two bounced up until finally, the smug signpost popped up.

What also popped up was a small, jacket-wearing man, musing over a map. In one hand, he tossed up and down a bright yellow chaos emerald. The group landed roughly behind him, causing the man to turn around.

He had a long, curved nose with small, combed lines of hair that hung from his shiny bald head. Accompanying this were two bright blue eyes, the green jacket and a strange set of black and white boots that were practically both his shoes and pants.

"Who might you be?" he spoke, his voice as shrivelled as his skin. "One of the local natives perhaps?"

"And who are you?" Knuckles growled back. "What are you doing with that chaos emerald?"

"Oh, you know about his, do you?" the man responded, surprised. "Strange. Maybe you've run into my pathetic cousin?"

"Cousin?" Now it was Knuckles' turn to be confused. The man simply nodded.

"Oh yes, Ivo." Knuckles raised an eyebrow. The man looked at this and mused. "Yes, it does look like you've run into him more than a few times.

"You see, my cousin may as well have obsessive compulsive disorder. Constantly, he hunts down these chaos emeralds to power his machines – usually losing them to some off-coloured hedgehog. Quite sad, really. He can't even be bothered with renewable energy sources or programming his machines to not rely on all the powers of the chaos emeralds." The man explained. Slowly, his tone began to drip with venom. "He's a failure to the Robotnik line. I'm going to prove him wrong – but, his fascination with these emeralds just confuses me."

"If it confuses you," Big began, catching the man's attention. "why do you keep it?"

"So, my cousin doesn't." was the man's simple response. Silence overtook them, then Knuckles nodded.

"That's fair, but, look – your cousin's taken the Master Emerald, something I've been sworn to protect. If it's possible, the emeralds can help guide me to it –" Knuckles found himself cut off by the man, who snarled.

"Oh, you're the guardian of that miserable island in the sky, are you?" He growled. "No wonder. No, I'm going to keep that Master Emerald, thank you very much."

"Excuse me?!" Knuckles yelled. "You have it?!"

"Remember this name, for it is the last you'll ever hear!" The man roared, pushing a small red button. The earth began to crumble under their feet, as a giant stone golem crashed down. "Snively Robotnik, the greatest mechanical engineer the world will ever see!"

The ground collapsed, and the group only had time to grab a few gulps of air before they too sank to the bottom. A thin pod, quite watertight, was embedded in the golem's stomach, and as the glass began to tint, the trio saw Snively grinning in his seat.

Without any warning, and much faster than they anticipated, the golem slammed a fist down onto the ground. Kevin gasped and swam for the surface – Snively ignored him, beginning to walk forward.

Quickly snapping up bubbles that the Nik-Golem formed as it stomped forward, Knuckles quickly swam forward. Narrowly dodging a stone fist, he slammed his knuckles into the arm, allowing himself to come close to Snively's pod. He smashed it twice, before being whacked off by the other golem's arm.

Big frowned. He wasn't too good in a water fight. His rod was kind of useless, and his belly flop wouldn't help unless the golem was on the flat side. So, he tried something different.

He charged into the golem's legs, whilst Knuckles was pounding away at the pod. With Snively distracted, Big performed a Battering Ram on its legs, knocking the golem down and performing the belly flop. He then found himself squished and thrown away, gasping for air.

Snively's voice arched through the water. "No wonder my cousin has trouble with you – he seems to always underestimate his opponents!" Suddenly the Nix-Golem began to glow, and the head opened up. "Goodnight, guardian!"

The blast was immense. Knuckles felt pain worse than anything he'd ever felt and began to choke once more. Snively grinned and pinned the echidna down – Big had already closed his eyes. Knuckles pounded and tried to push it off, but with no air and no energy, it was futile.

The last thing he saw was Snively's wild grin, before it all went black.

**Next time, on Emerald Quest - Another Doctor?! Who really is the villian here? Eggman, or Snively? But don't worry - Knuckles, Big, and Kevin will all be back for Episode 8!**

**Stay tuned, folks!**


	10. Episode 8: Chaotix Contract (Part 1)

Knuckles choked up water, coughing and spluttering. "Easy, easy." He heard a voice from a figure calm and content, giving him a firm pat on the back. Opening his bleary, blurry eyes, he could only glimpse purple.

"Big?" he asked weakly. The figure shook his head.

"Espio." The chameleon answered.

Knuckles sat up, rubbing his eyes until sure enough, he was greeted by the familiar ninja chameleon. "Oh… hey, Espio. Long time no see."

"What happened to you?" Espio asked, worried. "Charmy was following a chao, then we found Big bobbing on the surface and the ground seemed to be crumbled up on the water's floor."

"There's this guy… Snively, he called himself." Knuckles explained. He coughed a little bit more. "He's like Eggman's cousin, and he makes similar stuff."

"Mmm…" Espio mused, looking off into the distance. "I never knew the doctor had a cousin."

"Neither did I, but he's got the Master Emerald." Knuckles responded. He stood up, looking over the vast underwater pit. "My priorities have changed."

"No, I don't think they have." argued Espio.

"What do you mean?"

"Unless it's like Metal Sonic, there's still the contracts." Espio explained. "We've got one too – get a chaos emerald from the nearby ruins. You're lucky we were passing by."

"You have a contract?!"

Espio nodded. "I think it might be the good doctor again. But, now that you've brought up his cousin, I'm not too sure."

"No, it's got to be Eggman." Knuckles growled. "If he knows what his cousin is doing, he's probably trying to get a better hand up on him."

"You think?" Espio asked. "To be honest, I don't think Eggman has it in him."

Knuckles didn't respond.

Espio sighed. "Well, Big's off fishing with the chao. Its name is Kevin, by the way – and Vector and Charmy went ahead to the ruins. Our client's told us the name of it is Rusty Ruin Zone."

"Rusty Ruin?" Knuckles looked at Espio, suddenly interested. "No, the contracts are definitely Eggman. He knows that place like the back of his hand – heck, I made a few good rings off of Sonic during his run through there before. I mean, I was low on cash at the time…" he slowly wandered off, until he was no longer speaking. Espio rolled his eyes.

"I'll go get Big, and we'll head off to Rusty Ruin together, as a group. Vector's probably got the emerald by now."

* * *

Rusty Ruin looked almost exactly as Knuckles remembered it, except maybe a bit more derelict. The ceramics seemed smashed in, the tiles a lot more cracked and crooked; it was quiet, and incredibly cold as his chao snuggled into his dreadlocks. He smiled.

"This certainly looks like a ruin." Espio commented, glancing around. Big too looked around, and gasped.

"What is it?" Knuckles whirled around, fully expecting some sort of beast to be there. Big pointed forward, and the two followed his arm to a huge golden robotic gorilla, guarding a cage of animals.

"Eggman's doing?" Espio asked, staring the 'bot down.

"Maybe." Knuckles responded. He mulled the situation over in his head. "We've got to save the animals. They're a one-way ticket to rest of the ruins."

Espio nodded. "Fine by me. I'll take care of the robot, you free the animals."

"No way, you can't do it alone."

"And neither can you – you cheated death once, and I don't think you can do it again."

"Can I say something?" Big interrupted. The pair looked back at him. "You two go both fight the gorilla, and destroy it. I'll take Kevin and free the animals."

Knuckles nodded. "A fair plan. C'mon, Espio – I'll lead the way."

Knuckles ran forward, leaping over a large set of walls and gliding comfortably down towards the edge of the cracked structure, looking over the huge flora that had made itself home. Big followed along, but became distracted by a peculiar side-passage. Dodging carefully the rotating spiked balls, he made his way across the path, Kevin nestled above his ears, until he found a back passage to the animals behind the gorilla.

Meanwhile, Espio had landed uncomfortably on a spinning fan. Much to his dismay, he found himself quickly spinning in circles, before being launched forward like a spinning top. He could barely control himself, and with a short yelp and some guidance from Knuckles, burst through the fallen pillars, down the steps, and slammed loudly against the wall.

The gorilla roared, noticing their presence. "We have to act fast." Espio muttered. Suddenly, Knuckles noticed Big's disappearance.

"Wait!" he cried. "Where's Big?"

"Not the time for it now!" yelped Espio, pushing Knuckles out of the way as the gorilla's golden fist split the two of them. The gorilla roared as Espio pierced a small hole in its tough exterior with his sharp ninja-stars, pulling its arm back in a fit of rage.

"I've got him!" Knuckles cried, jumping up the step and running forward. With a huge, charged fist he beat back the gorilla until it fell over, and Espio darted for its centre. He scratched away at the exterior but it was to no avail. The gorilla quickly jumped to its feet, throwing Espio away, up the back path where Big was nestled in shock.

Knuckles watched, slightly in fear, as the gorilla grabbed at a small rotating spike trap. He ripped it off by its chain, the mechanism broken, and slammed it down where Knuckles was standing. Quickly, he moved out the way, running in between the gorilla's legs as it swung the new ball-and-chain weapon across the ground.

Espio blinked, coughing. He'd had the air knocked out of him, and as he struggled to get up, he felt a soft mass gently pick him up. "B-Big?" he stuttered. The cat nodded.

"Don't be a hypocrite, now." Big replied, helping the chameleon to his feet. "There's a clock connecting it to its legs – maybe the power source is there?"

"You could be right." Espio nodded, noticing the clock for himself. He hopped down the steps, just as Knuckles rammed into the gorilla, sending him crashing to the ground. Espio landed roughly on the sleek, metal surface, and with a few sharp strokes cut out the clock from its middle.

A loud noise, like a Chinese gong, echoed out throughout the ruin. The gorilla pumped its chest, and Knuckles recognised the model at once.

"It's King Gong!" he cried. "Sonic told me about this one."

"King Gong?" Espio asked, confused. "So is it Eggman?"

"This was one of Eggman's first models." Knuckles explained, the two regrouping as the gorilla stood back up, one last time. "Usually, inside the clock is a chaos emerald."

Espio looked back into the hole, and shrugged. "I don't see one."

"It must be running on some other power source, then."

"Perhaps."

King Gong roared, and grabbed the spike trap from further up, completely missing Big. This one held two spikes instead of one, and now the 'bot, holding three ball-and-chains in hand, began to slam them down angrily. The ground rumbled and cracked, and the two found it hard to maintain their footing.

Soon, King Gong began to spin, trying to catch the heroes unawares. Slowly but surely, King Gong began to spin faster and faster until finally, in a dizzy state, King Gong dropped the balls-and-chain and fell down to the ground.

Knuckles practically threw Espio towards the centre. "Hurry!" He yelled. "He won't stay down for long!"

Espio, after collecting himself, leapt into the core of King Gong. Inside, he spotted the source – a huge mess of clockwork, and his ears began to ring at the sound. As the ringing in his ears became louder, he threw a ninja-star forwards, watching it jam the clockwork until, with a shrill crack, the gears snapped up the ninja star, fell out of whack, until finally the powered wires fell silent, with only a few crackles of loose electricity darting out.

He climbed out, grabbing Knuckles' hand, shaking his head. His hearing returned to him, just in time to hear a birds' shriek from across the zone. The two stared out into the flora in shock. "Another one?" Knuckles asked, confused.

"It seems like Eggman's got this zone protected." Espio explained, turning towards the cage of animals which had been cracked open. "Big's got the birds."

"Nice job, Big!" Knuckles congratulated, noticing it himself. Big shrugged bashfully as the birds flew around a small metal plate, watching the green lights around it begin to flash brightly. Knuckles smiled, diving into the plate. The plate opened like a hatch, and the other three followed.

Knuckles emerged through a half-loop into a thick purple fog. He rubbed his eyes and winced, trying to stare into the purplish darkness.

"I can barely see myself." Espio muttered, looking down at himself. Big chuckled.

"Kevin, go to Knuckles." The chao, lost in the fog, nodded, and headed towards the bright red echidna. Nestling into his owner's dreadlocks once more (and using Knuckles as a waypoint) the group began to make their way through the fog, hopping up steps and towards the cooler fans.

Kevin shivered.

"I'm not going on that again." Espio grunted, feeling the wind brush his face. Knuckles nodded, although it wasn't seen by his crew. He hugged the wall instead, moving back until he found a small, thin path, blocked by old pillars.

With a hard punch the pillars shattered, and the group slowly made their way down the ramp and up some short steps when another spinning spike-trap entered their vision. Knuckles yelped, jumping backwards making Espio fall over into Big. "What is it?" Big asked, frantically. Espio stood up, brushed himself off, and looked into Knuckles' purple eyes.

"There's another ball-and-chain trap!" Knuckles replied, wincing. He stared forward, eyes semi-closed as the spikes pierced the fog, causing a whirlwind-like effect. He pointed.

Espio slouched, feeling a little calmer. "Watch how it rotates, Knuckles. Sneak past it when it rotates away."

"I can't see it rotating, I can only see fog."

Espio sighed. "Watch me. Then follow."

Following the chameleon by his bright yellow horns, the trio watched as the whirlwind swayed to the left, and the stealthy creature darted forwards, emerging safely on the other side just as he was covered by the purple fog wafting in his direction. He called out, "Now, you go!"

Knuckles nodded, dashing forward with Big as the whirlwind coasted to the left. They barrelled over Espio, collapsing in a heap on the floor. "I didn't expect you to all come at once…" the chameleon groaned, pulling himself up. After making sure Kevin was okay, Knuckles chuckled.

"Well, we have to keep moving. Are you alright?"

Espio nodded, moving forward into the fog. Suddenly, he yelped, moving his hand back from where the glove had been pierced.

"What happened?!" Knuckles yelled, looking at Espio's now injured hand.

"Spikes on the wall…" Knuckles looked up at the wall, spotting them himself. They moved back and forth, and the path seemed to curve upwards – a steep slope with built-in booby traps. Knuckles groaned.

"Of course there's more…"

"Stop bellyaching." Big muttered, pushing forwards and beginning to climb upwards. "Keep moving, like you said."

"Right." Knuckles nodded.

Carefully making their way past another ball-and-chain trap, the two began to descend, until finally they found themselves in a flat, wasteland-esc area. Big's ears caught the sounds of birds chirping in panic, and he stopped. He looked up and screamed, "LOOK OUT!"

Knuckles had just enough time to move out of the way as thick yellow claws pierced the fog. A large mass with yellow spotlights for eyes circled back into the sky, looking down at them from below. It let out a mechanical screech.

"That's the bird!" Espio cried out, watching as it prepared to nose dive again. "If you see its body, hit it!"

The bird shot downwards and, spotting its white underbelly, shrieked as Knuckles slammed an uppercut into it. Recognising the model, Knuckles fell back as the bird looped around again.

"It's a Vultron!" Knuckles yelled over the frantic movements of the bird. It dove once more, allowing Big to spot its nameplate before it was hit back up.

"It's Vultronic!"

The bird screeched again, except this time, its bright yellow beak opened up and with a ferocious bang a large cannonball embedded itself in the ground, narrowly missing Big.

"Big!" Knuckles cried, watching the white belly-fur cat fall backwards. "Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine – watch the skies!"

Knuckles leapt up, but the bird had a different approach, catching Knuckles in its beak and shooting upwards. Knuckles watched the ground disappear from view, unable to move his other hand, until the bird let go.

Knuckles screamed, plummeting towards the ground. He could barely see anything until a hook snagged his back again, reeling him back to Big. Landing softly in his fur, Knuckles whimpered slightly, shaking.

"Espio!" Big yelled, holding the echidna tight. "Your stars!"

Espio nodded, albeit Big, who couldn't see, yelled frantically again. He leapt up into the air as the bird dove again, and snagged its body with the ninja-star. The bird collapsed, unable to pull up enough to head back into the air, and Big, letting go of Knuckles for a moment, jumped into the air and belly-flopped onto the beast.

Vultronic, with a resounding screech, exploded under Big's weight, scattering its inner clockwork all over the zone. The explosion rocked the fog backwards, sending it rolling unto itself, providing them with a comfortable view of each other (and not just Knuckles).

Knuckles jumped to his feet, Kevin happily fluttering next to him. "You alright?" Espio asked, patting the echidna on the back.

"Yeah." Knuckles sighed. The birds, free from their enclosure, activated yet another trap door. This time, Knuckles wasn't as willing to jump down, but as the fog began to close back in on them, he had no choice. He jumped into the trap door, his friends following close behind.

**Next time, on Emerald Quest - Rusty Ruin is large, but it's not known for its fog. As the group continue their trek, what else awaits them in the purple darkness?**

**Stay tuned, folks!**


	11. Episode 9: Chaotix Contract (Part 2)

"I can't see anything."

Espio twisted his head, trying to catch any glimpse of red. He heard Kevin cry out, lost in the fog. "It looks like the fog's gotten thicker."

As Knuckles pushed through the fog, calling out for Kevin, Big wandered forward into Espio, causing the chameleon to fall over in surprise.

"Sorry." The cat muttered. Espio simply grunted back.

"At this point, we're going to get lost no matter what. We may as well split up."

"Split up?!" Knuckles exclaimed. Espio nodded, but the echidna didn't see it. "You're crazy, Espio! We'll all get lost that way!"

"No, I think I see what Espio means." Big drawled. "One of us could find the path out, and then perhaps a way to get rid of this fog."

"This isn't the London Olympics, Big." Knuckles whined.

"But this fog certainly is unnaturally coloured."

"So?!"

Kevin bumped into Knuckles crescent-marked chest and gave a soft, happy cry.

"So?!" he called out again. "Guys?!"

No response.

"Great." Knuckles muttered to himself, clutching Kevin close. "Split up, he says; we'll get rid of the fog, he says…"

Suddenly the path curved downward and Knuckles found himself curling up in an uncomfortable ball around Kevin, until they ploughed into a mouldy wall with two noticeable bumps. Getting up from the uncomfortable fall, he moved down the wall until a large ball-and-chain trap whirred into view. He jumped back in shock, tried to follow the movements in the fog – but it was to no avail.

"How on earth am I getting past this one…?" Knuckles muttered, watching the spikes pierce his view every so often. He decided to leave it up to chance.

As the spike rolled past, he moved in close to the chain, following it around until the path opened up once more. Falling down the ruined steps and avoiding a nasty spike trap, the echidna-chao duo eventually ran headfirst into a wall.

"Huh…? Oh, wonderful – a dead end." Knuckles said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. He went to turn around when a huge, red spiked ball flew into his vision.

To say Knuckles got scared is an understatement. The echidna practically screamed at the top of his lungs and darted out of the way. He watched in shock and fear as the spike began to turn course, and as it disappeared from his vision, he felt himself pushed to the ground as Espio dove into him.

Suddenly, it grew incredibly cold. A huge fan began to wipe the fog from the arena, and soon the huge spiked ball had a figure to place it on.

"What is that?!"

"It's called UNINC – pronounced unique, I think." Espio muttered, watching the bot glare at them. "Big found a giant fan that was producing all the fog and flipped it in reverse – I found him at the machine's base and then we heard you."

Knuckles' face flushed scarlet. "Well, uh… it startled me, is all… nothing that I couldn't handle…" he stuttered. Espio rolled his eyes, but a grin plastered itself on his face.

"Get up." stated the chameleon, pulling the echidna to his feet. "We have a battle on our hands."

The giant robot moved slowly, but the spikes moved much faster. As UNINC tried to turn, Espio threw a ninja-star, watching it embed itself in the robot's side. Nothing happened. Espio snarled, as Big jumped forward into the arena.

"Big!" Knuckles cried. "Toss me up there!" He ran towards the cat as Big pulled out his fishing pole, grabbing onto Knuckles as he curled into a ball and throwing him out to the very top of the bot. As the hook detached itself from Knuckles dreadlocks, he threw out his fists into the back of UNINC, and began to climb.

The bot gave out shrill, high beeps and tried to move the spikes to hit the small echidna on its back. "Look out!" Espio yelled from below. Knuckles turned his head around and, seeing the oncoming danger, dropped down to the floor.

With a shrill shriek UNINC slammed a spiked ball into itself, leaving a painful, sparking dent in its otherwise perfectly blue spherical shape. The ball dropped from its position, slamming into the ground and thus creating a hazard for the trio. Kevin, floating from afar, noticed his owner's actions and decided to do the same.

Well, firstly he had to generate the courage. But once he did that, he'd definitely help out.

"That's the pattern." Knuckles muttered as the group dodged and weaved out of the incoming spiked balls. They had sped up a fair bit more, now that there were only two of them. "One of us has to get up there, and make it hit itself."

Espio, hearing the guardian's mumblings, nodded to himself. Leaping into the air with such a rise that it almost seemed impossible, he dove onto the robot's surface. With a shrill squeak in surprise, the UNINC didn't try to slam a spiked ball into itself the second time. Instead, the balls stopped rotating, and the sphere began to spin much quicker. Espio clung on tightly to the caved in dent, shutting his eyes as his world began to spin.

Soon, the bot slowed down, dizzy. Espio blinked, gulping back vomit and pulling out a ninja star. He began to slice away at the thin wires and, in a sudden surge of power, one of the balls dropped out of the air onto the bot's head. Espio was thrown off and, just as suddenly, pulled backwards as he was caught by Big's pole.

"Espio?" Big asked, placing the chameleon on his feet and watching him sway. "Are you alright? You're not looking too good."

Sure enough, the chameleon began to change colours rapidly. Usually, it seemed to be some variant of purple, Big noted, but as Espio fell backwards, Big caught him and placed him down on one of the ruin steps.

"Stay safe, Espio. We'll take care of this."

Espio didn't respond. He was too busy coating the cracks with the remains of a cheap box-lunch.

The electrical outage had caused the last ball to spin rapidly. The bot seemed to be computing actions too fast for its own good – Knuckles and Big could barely keep up. It seemed to turn on a dime, moving the ball as fast as an electrical fan, and soon Knuckles and Big found themselves dodging and weaving without any sort of chance to attack.

Worse, the two had begun to tire. Knuckles' movements became sluggish until his leg was caught by the red ball, flinging him against the wall with a horrific crack. Big pulled out his indestructible parasol and held it up in front of him, feeling every harsh knock as he was pushed further and further backwards.

Kevin watched the carnage and roared – well, more so he made a squeaking noise, but to him it was a roar and nothing else. He flew forward, slipping in to the ball's centre. UNINC was too busy pouring attacks on Big to notice – but he did notice when the chao flew into its mainframe.

Screeching in surprise it slammed the ball into itself with so much force that it exploded instantly, and the chao was flung out of it at such a speed that it slammed into the flora. Silence fell over the arena.

Espio blinked, feeling steady once more. "I might just be hallucinating," he said, staring at where UNINC had been moments before. "But I think the robot's gone."

Big glanced out from his parasol. "No, it's most certainly gone."

Knuckles groaned. "I think my leg's been dislocated."

Big jumped. "Oh! Here, I'll help you." He rushed over to Knuckles' aid as Espio stood up, steading himself against the ledge. Kevin flew out of the flora, resting himself on Espio's head in between his spikes.

"Oh, hello Kevin." Espio nodded, catching the chao as he fell from his resting point. He noticed the gear stuck around the chao's belly, and gasped. "That was you?!"

"What?" Knuckles asked. He winced as Big popped his leg back into place. Then, he too noticed the gear around the chao's belly as Espio pulled it off him. "Kevin!" he exclaimed, standing up much too fast and falling over in pain. Big caught him before he hit the ground. "Kevin, are you alright?!"

"He's fine." Espio responded calmly. He let go of the chao, who fluttered happily over to its owner, resting back in his dreadlocks. With the help of Big Knuckles got to his feet, slowly too he got used to walking at a steady pace. Then, he stopped. And stared.

"What is it?" Big asked. The other two moved up next to where he'd stopped, spotting the same object as he – a Giant Ring, spinning on an unknown axis. The trio hopped down into what was essentially a huge empty space, and carefully approached the ring.

"Hey, Espio!" A cheerfully high voice greeted the trio, whom whirled around with their fists and appropriate weapons at the ready. The bee threw up his hands in shock, exclaiming, "Hey, hey, it's just me! It's just Charmy!"

"Charmy…!" Knuckles seethed, dropping his fists. "Could you not sneak up on us?!"

"Sorry…" Charmy looked down at the ground, sadly. Espio sighed, gently lifting the bee's face up to his.

"Don't worry about Knuckles." He whispered. "You know how he gets."

"Charmy." Big began. The bee looked over to him, confused. "Do you know what this is?" he asked, gesturing towards the Giant Ring.

"Nope." Charmy shook his head. "Vector jumped in there a while ago and told me to keep watch."

Knuckles nodded. "So, he should be out any second now…"

As if on cue the crocodile burst out of the ring, landing in a crumpled heap. The ring clattered to the floor, shrinking in size. Big picked it up and pocketed it, then helped the crocodile to his feet.

"I got it!" Vector cried, holding up the shiny pink emerald in his hand. "It was hard, but I did it!

"Oh, hey Espio! Glad you could join us." Vector nodded, noticing the chameleon's presence. Then, he turned to Knuckles. "Next time, try and grab some sort of air bubble. You were lucky we were around."

Knuckles grumbled back in response.

Suddenly, the ground began to rumble under their feet. "We've stolen the treasure and the ruins are falling apart!" Charmy cried. Vector began to panic.

"No, it's not!" Knuckles roared back. "These ruins are old but they aren't that old – something's coming!"

"Again?" Espio muttered. Big sighed.

A huge, green robot with a giant yellow fan in its centre landed roughly on the ground. Its feet caved in, leaving it with two extendable arms and a bright television screen. It flickered for a moment. One of the arms whipped out and nabbed the emerald out of Vector's grasp.

"HEY!" Vector cried. Charmy tried to grab at it but was smacked away by the other hand. The emerald was inserted into a small groove at the top of the machine, and the television screen flickered to life.

"Snively!" Knuckles yelled. The thin-nosed Robotnik growled.

"You should have been dead! Drowned at the bottom of that pool!" Snively bellowed. His voice was crackly through the robot's speakers. "No matter. I'll finish you here."

"GIVE BACK THE EMERALD, MIDGET!" Vector roared.

"Yeah!" Charmy added. "That's our prize!"

"SILENCE!" Snively screamed. "Silence, you filthy animals! I'm taking what's mine and I'm leaving – my roly-poly cousin can burn for all I care!"

The fan whirred to life. "You may have shut it down once, but I control the wind here!" Snively exclaimed, grinning. The thick purple fog began to spew out once more, coating the group until they were all blinded.

"Wah!" Vector cried, whipping around. "Where's everyone gone?"

"Keep your lid on, Vector, it's just fog." Espio explained.

"Did this guy just copy Eggman's ideas, or what?"

"THE NIX-CYCLONE IS ENTIRELY ORIGINAL!" Snively roared. Knuckles grinned, following Snively's voice until the robot came into view. "COPYING THAT LUNATIC WOULD BE A DEATH SENTENCE!"

Pulling back his fist, Knuckles slammed it into the blades. Luckily, he caught one, and it spiralled crazily into the other blades, tearing them up and thus stopping the flow of the fog. He heard a button click through the screen.

"What the?" Snively blinked, confused. Knuckles heard him repeatedly press the button, growing more frustrated each time. "WHO BROKE THE FAN?!"

Without wasting any more time, Knuckles dove into the inner workings of the machine. Just like the rest of Snively's machines, the energy was mostly renewable. In fact, it ran on steam. Knuckles blinked in surprise but wasted no time in destroying every last part of it, bursting out of the top into a cleared arena sending the solar panels flying.

"Gah!" Snively recoiled. "No! You can't have it!" One of the hands grasped at the emerald, and with a large arc threw it far out of the ruins. The screen flickered off, and the arms dropped dead. Knuckles watched it go and nodded.

"Hey! He's still got the emerald!" Charmy exclaimed. Vector growled.

"How the hell am I going to pay the bills now?"

"You still will, Vector." Knuckles answered, jumping from his perch on the ruined stone wall. "It landed in the old Chemical Plant."

"That's rather close to here, isn't it?" Espio commented. Big gave a short hum in response.

"Right then! We're coming with you - my sweet, sweet money is out there with that lunatic!"

Knuckles nodded. "This way!" He called, running off into a small cavern. "I know the way out!"

**Next time, on Emerald Quest - Knuckles' Chaotix is (almost) back together, and with Snively's location in mind, the group head off to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds he has in his possession!**

**Apologies, also, for the very late upload - life has not been kind, but updates should become more frequent!**

**Stay tuned, folks!**


	12. Episode 10: Secret Pathways

Knuckles glanced around the darkened Chemical Plant, leading the way as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He heard Espio groan behind him. "If I have to deal with not being able to see anything again god help me…"

"I thought that Snively guy was here?" Vector asked, confused. "This place seems totally abandoned."

"He threw the emerald in this direction." Knuckles explained, although he was slightly confused himself. If this was supposed to be Snively's base of operations, where was the power?

"Maybe he shut off the power so we couldn't find him?" Big asked. Knuckles shook his head.

"No, that doesn't make any sense."

"Actually, it sort of does." Charmy spoke up. "Didn't you say that guy ran on renewable stuff?"

"I suppose so. But to shut off all of his generators just because we were coming seems a bit drastic."

Suddenly, Knuckles stopped. In fact, they all did. "Did you hear that?" he whispered.

"Someone's here." Espio noted, glancing around. "Be on the ready."

Silence overtook the group. Then, Vector cried out as the ground crumbled underneath him, metal twisting and cracking before exploding into little shards on the ground. Thick, acidic blue goop dripped from the broken pipes, and glass littered the floor. Below, Knuckles could actually see – the lights were on in that part of the facility. "Vector!" He yelled. "Are you alright?"

When Vector didn't respond, Charmy panicked. "I'll go down and check!" he snapped, darting down before anyone could respond. For a moment, they all looked down into the pit, waiting for the bee to fly back up and tell everyone it was alright. Instead, they watched a shadow dart into Charmy, pick up Vector, and throw him back away from the chasm.

Without another word between the group Knuckles and Espio darted down, Big close behind. Vector barrelled into them, and Big threw out a line, snagging the shadow in place. Knuckles' jaw dropped. "Mighty?!"

"Knuckles?!" Mighty cried. The armadillo hung in the air, the hook snagged under his shell. In one swift movement the line snapped, and he pulled the hook out.

"Why are you attacking us?" Espio asked, just as surprised. Mighty looked away.

"Sorry, I… thought you were someone else." He stuttered, glancing down the hall. "Why are you all even here, anyway? Weren't you running a detective agency?"

"We were… ugh," Vector grunted, pulling himself to his feet. "We've got a contract to retrieve someone's chaos emerald, and I'm assuming the fella that stole it was the same one who stole it before. It's $40,000, Mighty – it'll save the agency, and probably our lives as well."

Mighty rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, would it save mine? Or Ray's?"

"Who's Ray?" Charmy piped up, fluttering nearby. Luckily, his helmet had absorbed most of the injuries.

Mighty scoffed. "That's none of your business, bee."

"Look, clearly something's happened to you." Knuckles replied, feeling a bit agitated. "But we need to get through here. We weren't who you thought you were, alright?"

Mighty looked off down the corridor. "It's a bit of a weird one, down there. It's nothing like the Chemical Plant I'm used to – even the gooey-factory part has nothing on the loops and vents in there."

"So Snively's put his own twist on things, has he?" Vector said, smiling. "Well, we're not inhibited by those rings – we should get a move on!"

Mighty seemed to freeze at the mention of Snively, but before the other Chaotix members could notice, he returned back to his former self. "I'll come with you. I've been looking off down those parts earlier, I think I've got it decently mapped out."

"Alright!" Charmy cried excitedly. "The Chaotix is back together again!"

"Who's this cat?" Mighty asked, noticing Big for the first time. Knuckles smiled, introducing him.

"This is Big – I ran into him a little after our adventure on Carnival Island."

"Huh… how on earth did you two meet?"

"Dr. Eggman shattered the Master Emerald." Big explained. "Without it, the island fell from the sky. I was hunting down Eggman as well – one of my friends had a chaos emerald and they were in danger. We ended up running into each other for similar reasons."

"Huh." Mighty stood for a moment, then shook his head. "Well, we've been dawdling long enough. Come on."

With that, Mighty turned and ran off into the other direction. Quickly, the rest of the Chaotix (and Big (and Kevin)) followed suit.

Mighty soon disappeared, but it was obvious why. The huge ramp before them allowed them to quickly gain speed, but Vector quickly lost his footing and began to roll, tackling Espio and Knuckles and forcing them into a snowball like form, until they rose high into the air, unformed, and landed uncomfortably on the ground. Kevin rushed to his owner's aid, but Mighty plucked him out the air, laughing.

"Who's this little fella, eh? A factory like this is no place for a chao."

"Let him go." Big ordered. Mighty turned to him, smirking.

"Yeah?" he challenged. "And what are you going to do about it, fat man?"

The Chaotix watched in shock as Big slammed a fist into his chest, pushing him back a few metres. Mighty let go of the chao in surprise, who fluttered to Big's side. Instead of nestling in his chest fur, he now hovered next to him, able to support his own weight for much longer periods of time.

"Not bad, cat." Mighty commented, still smirking. Without another word, he ran off down the tunnel, leaving the group confused.

"What's his problem?" Knuckles burst out, clearly annoyed. "Kevin, you alright?"

"Something's not right." Espio noted. Vector scoffed.

"Clearly!"

"That was so cool, Big!" Charmy cheered. Big blushed, turning away.

"Oh… it wasn't really, I didn't want to get violent…"

Knuckles growled. "He's run off – I don't know where, but he's gone."

"We need to chase after him." Espio stated. "We're a team – hostility isn't something I was expecting from a reuniting, but all the same, I'd rather figure out what's wrong."

"Alright." Knuckles nodded. "Come on, everyone – we'll make it through at our own pace. Oh, and if you spot any Giant Rings, grab them – I'll need those later."

Everyone nodded, giving their own respective catchphrase, then dove off into the zone. Knuckles watched them go as Big wandered up to him.

"What do you think I could catch in that water?" Big asked, staring back at the pipes. Knuckles shook his head.

"Nothing, probably – it's more goop than water."

"Oh."

They hopped up the steps, until they came to a series of moving boxes. They were attached to small claws, and carefully the two of them jumped their way to the top. Around the half-loop they went, until the next ramp took them to a set of rotating platforms. This time, however, they seemed motionless.

"Is there no power going to them…?" Knuckles wondered aloud. Big, however, clambered onto one – and almost lost his balance as the platforms shifted weight. "Oh, that's how."

"How am I going to get up there?" Big asked, looking up.

"Not to worry – I'm sure those boxes will provide enough weight." Knuckles replied, jumping down the platform and heading back to the platforming challenge prior. With a bit of stress and electrical sparks, Knuckles ripped the box from the claw and carried it back up.

"Big!" he called. "Can you get down? I need help getting this box up."

"Coming." He heard Big say. A minute later, his furry head popped up from the top.

"Here." said Knuckles as he tossed it upwards. With a burst of strength Big pulled it upwards, carrying it up and tossing it on the platform. "There. That should keep it weighted."

From there, Big hopped up and clambered onto the platform, whilst Knuckles climbed the wall and glided over to the high platform, as he was too small to reach it from standing on the block and he very much so did not want to go through the process of getting another one.

The path crossed back over their starting position, throwing them through loops and down a small chute towards two more weighted platforms. The combined weight of the pair dropped them down considerably, allowing them to get off onto the next platform with ease.

Onwards, there was a vent. After busting the top, the pair glanced down it, worryingly.

"I don't know if I'll fit." Big eventually said. Knuckles nodded.

"We can try?"

Big took a deep breath and leapt into the vent. Almost immediately a current of air pulled him down, and the vent sucked him through. Knuckles waited until the sucking noise stopped and jumped in himself.

On the other side, Big lay panting with small red lines across his belly. Knuckles winced. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." Big nodded. "I'm okay. Come on, we have to keep going."

They continued through the loops, dizzying themselves until they were uncomfortably sucked into another chute. From there, they continued down the path until doors slammed shut behind them.

"Down here!" They heard a voice cry. It was Vector, staring out over a pink sea.

"What is this stuff?" Charmy thought aloud, fluttering down to touch it.

"Don't touch it!" Knuckles cried. "It's Mega Mack – touching it might poison you, or worse."

"Yeah, don't touch that stuff, Charmy." Vector warned. "I'm not spending that $40,000 on hospital bills."

Charmy nodded, moving away. They stared out over the sea of Mega Mack, over the mechanical platforms hovering on the surface. Knuckles went to jump, but Vector stopped him. "They fall." He warned, looking out over them. "I think they're like those weight platforms from earlier."

"Then you'll have to be quick." Knuckles replied, gliding over the whole mess. Big rolled his eyes, hooking the platform on the end and reeling himself over.

"Hey, no fair!" Vector cried out. "Of course, you all have some ability!"

"See you on the other side, Vector!" Knuckles responded, running away. Big, on the other hand, snagged Vector and reeled him over, Charmy following suit.

"Thanks, Big." Vector smiled at the cat, who waved him off with a hand.

"Don't worry about it."

Ahead of Big were another series of moving blocks, but Knuckles had passed them, opting for another platforming route instead. Big followed carefully, then followed Knuckles up a ramp. Knuckles had stopped moving, waiting for Big to catch up.

"Helping Vector?"

"Yes."

Knuckles nodded. So did Kevin. "Good."

After another loop and a spring Knuckles burst from the top, causing Espio to jump in fright. Before Knuckles could greet him, Espio pointed, saying, "Mighty ran that way!"

Vector and Charmy popped up a moment later as Espio ran forward. Knuckles motioned to the two to follow, and they ran until the door slammed behind them.

"You!" Snively cried from the monitor. "I am paying you to kill them! $80,000 and a new home is on the line, armadillo! Do as your hired!"

"Mighty…?" Knuckles asked, flabbergasted. Mighty didn't even turn around.

"Give me a weapon, at least!" Mighty argued. "I can't beat them all with one hand!"

"Fine! Stand still!" The monitor flickered off, and Mighty turned around to a very angry Chaotix.

"You traitor!" Vector roared. "What happened to being a team?!"

"You cut me out, crocodile!" Mighty roared back. "You tossed me onto the sidewalk, that's what happened! I had to raise some kid on my own with barely any money because you were too stingy to offer me any sort of compensation!"

"If I knew you were in trouble, I would have helped!" Knuckles cried, but his voice fell on deaf ears.

"Shut it, Knuckles!" he yelled. "You're attached to that emerald like it's the love of your life! Like hell you'd drop it to help me!"

Suddenly, one of the pipes above opened up, dumping a huge amount of Mega Mack on Mighty. He became a hot pink, and his eyes began to glow. "I'm finishing you here and now – revenge is best served dead cold!"

With a sudden speed Mighty rushed on the group, forcing them apart. He did, however, manage to smash Charmy into a wall, knocking the bee out cold. "HEY!" Vector bellowed, catching Mighty's attention. "No one does that to my bee!"

He swung his tail, but Mighty easily caught it and picked up Vector like he was some sort of toy. Much like a toddler throwing a tantrum he tossed Vector aside, causing him to painfully smash into the metal.

Knuckles growled, running forward fists outstretched. Mighty caught one but Knuckles followed quickly with a counter. If it did something, Mighty clearly wasn't showing it. He threw Knuckles back with the one hand he had, then twisted as a ninja-star clinked off his shell.

Espio quickly vanished from sight, but Mighty tracked him down, catching him by surprise on the wall. Before he could attack, he was yanked from his position by a certain cat, who pummelled him with punches like he was a hanging punching bag. A Battering Ram later sent him into the wall, but Mighty was quick to recover.

Before Mighty could attack however, Knuckles dove into his side, sending him to the floor. Just as quickly as he did on the wall, Mighty got to his feet.

"He was never this strong…!" Espio gasped, already panting from the sudden fight-or-flight response. Knuckles shook his head.

"It's the Mega Mack – it's made him stronger." Knuckles explained. "It's supposed to be poisonous… if we give it a few more minutes, he'll start getting affected by it."

"I don't know if we can last a few more minutes!"

"We have to try."

Mighty darted through them, causing them to jump back. With a swift kick Espio was sent into the wall – Knuckles darted around the armadillo's punches and pushed him back into Big, who rammed into Mighty, knocking him off his feet for a moment. Vector dove in with a shot of his own, followed by Knuckles then finally Espio. Mighty was knocked back towards Charmy – without a second thought, he threw the bee up into the pipes, smashing the goop out over Mighty once more.

Instead of making Mighty stronger, he now began to choke. He coughed and spluttered – two heavy doses of Mega Mack were starting to make effects. Behind the Chaotix, the television flickered back to life.

"No! It won't end like this!" Snively cried. Suddenly, a bright pink chaos emerald emerged from the pipe. Without a second thought Mighty grabbed it – soon, the choking feeling subsided. He stood up, feeling stronger than ever. "You'll die here! You won't be a thorn in my side for much longer!"

Mighty grinned. Knuckles eyes widened. Moments after, they had been tossed and beaten until the metal arena was ready to cave in from dents. Vector lay unconscious, Espio heavily injured. Mighty's grin had begun to twist into a sadistic smirk.

"Vector, Vector, Vector…" he mumbled, giggling to himself. "Oh, you've no idea how long I've waited for this moment. Only two people will ever know your demise – and there's no way they'll share your deaths with the press." He burst into laughter. "What a sight! Who knew I could make my entire team kneel before me?!"

"Not everyone, Mighty!"

Suddenly, Mighty was thrown backwards. The arena finally caved in, sending Mighty to an untimely demise – deep with the chemicals of Secret Plant. Charmy quickly nabbed the emerald, sighing with relief.

"C-Charmy?!" Knuckles exclaimed. "You've been poisoned!"

"I'm okay, Knuckles, really!" Charmy smiled. "The emerald saved me!"

"You can't rely on that emerald forever, though." Big commented.

"I can rely on it for now."

"I have to be hallucinating this time." Espio muttered aloud. "Mighty's disappeared."

"Nope." Big stated. Espio groaned, hopping to his feet.

"No, no, NO!" Snively roared from the screen. "This can't be!"

"Oh, it can, you uppity-freak!" Charmy snarled. "You lose!"

Snively burst into laughter. "Think again, you filthy animal!"

The screen flickered off. Seconds later, a loud robotic-like voice echoed around the facility.

"SELF-DESTRUCT INITIATED. FIVE MINUTES TO DETONATION."

"What?!" Knuckles cried out, flicking his head back and forth in a panic to try and find a quick exit. Gently, Espio lifted Vector up.

"Vector's still unconscious!" Espio yelled out amongst the blaring alarms. "We won't be able to find an exit in time!"

"It's okay!" Charmy yelled, loud enough for everyone to hear. "I… I'll see if I can fix this!"

"Charmy, wait!"

But it was too late. The bee took off through a hole in the twisted framework, leaving Knuckles growling. "We have to follow him – if he lets go of that emerald at any moment, he's dead!"

Espio grunted. "How am I supposed to get Vector out of here?"

"I've got him." Big answered. He gently scooped Vector into his arms, casting his line out and pulling the two of them up. Espio leapt upwards, whilst Knuckles clambered up the walls.

"Where to?" Espio asked. Knuckles looked about, spotting a purplish goop stuck to the wall.

"There!" He pointed out, running forwards. He jumped into the goop as it circled around him. It pulled him up like a bubble, before popping on the wall and leaving him to clamber up onto the ledge. The others followed suit, with Espio catching Vector as he burst from his own bubble, for Big could not fit the two of them in one.

"FOUR MINUTES TO DETONATION."

As they sped across the pipes, the speakers began to crackle. Soon, as they bounced off of blue goop, Charmy's voice began to echo through the facility. "Guys! I found Snively's room!"

"Charmy?!" Knuckles cried. "Is he in there?"

"I think I can stop the sequence!" Charmy continued, unable to hear Knuckles' question. "Just," suddenly, Charmy began to violently cough. After a moment, he began to speak again. "give me a minute!"

"THREE MINUTES TO DETONATION."

"We have to keep moving, Knuckles." said Espio. "Unfortunately, we'll have to place our trust in Charmy – and even if he fails, we need to be out of here first."

"He doesn't have the emerald." Knuckles argued. "He could die before he's done anything." He glanced down into a pit, past the moving spikes. "But, as much as I hate it, you're right. Careful with this jump down, everyone."

They sped through the double loop, slamming their heads uncomfortably on the falling step-like blocks. With a short hop and a few passes with Vector, the group were pulled through the current of the glass pipes until they popped out on the other side.

"TWO MINUTES TO DETONATION."

"Hurry, Charmy…" Knuckles muttered, as they were thrown up from a ramp, into another bubble-cluster. It dragged them up to another ledge, with nowhere else to go but forward. A small, goop-like elevator pulled them up further, and soon they found themselves diving through a set of double loops, directly into a spring and without any warning they began to dip back into the facility, back into the glass pipes.

The pipes spat them out onto a green, spring-like goop that sent them soaring upwards, onto a small platform that led them to another bubble cluster. "ONE MINUTE TO DETONATION." The voice burst out. Through the speakers, Espio could hear frantic typing.

Finally, as the group frantically sped through loops and up bouncy tunnels, the alarms went silent. The power shut off once more, plunging the heroes into darkness. With heavy shaking, the wall lifted upwards, and the group was met with daylight – daylight on the city.

"I… I did it!" Charmy cried through the speakers. "I DID IT! I'm coming back now, guys! I think I can see the sun!"

"It's morning." Big noted as they stepped outside. Sure enough, the skies were a deep orange, yet the sun could be seen on the horizon, rising upwards. Vector groaned, coming to.

"What happened? Where's Mighty?" he moaned, looking around with clumsy eyes.

"It's okay." Espio sighed, a smile creeping up on him. "We're safe now."

"Not quite." Knuckles muttered. "Snively's still out there somewhere. Mighty might be too. Heck, that metal clone of mine Eggman came up with could be in repairs, still. Speaking of Eggman, he's got the entire of us under his thumb with these chaos emeralds and giant rings. We're nowhere near safe."

"We're safe for now, then."

Knuckles didn't respond.

As Big placed Vector on his feet, the buzzing of wings almost made the crocodile lose his balance. "Charmy!"

"Hiya, guys!" He smiled, waving. The emerald was implanted firmly onto his helmet, keeping the mack-covered bee alive and well. "Are you all okay?"

"Are you?" Knuckles spoke back. "We need to find a way to get all that gunk off you… maybe you should come with us?"

"No." Espio shook his head. "I think I know someone who can fix this up for us. We'll head back through to the Aquatic Ruin exit, make our way through Labyrinth Zone."

"Who is he?"

"Not he, she – Echo, one of the members of the Meropis City Guard. She's got close ties to the Princess of Meropis and they'll probably be able to cure it."

"Coating Charmy in water is not going to rid the mack."

"It's not my intention."

"Both of you, stop fighting." Big ordered, stepping between the two. "You three, good luck on your journey. We need to get to Station Square, so this is where we'll split."

"Alright." Vector nodded, waving. "See you guys later! Don't drown this time!"

Knuckles rolled his eyes. "You too – stay safe."

With that, the Chaotix ran back into the plant, and Knuckles turned to head off into the city, when he paused. He fell back into a frantic state. "Wait, where's Kevin?!"

"Asleep." Big stated, opening a small pocket on his utility belt to reveal the sleeping chao. "He got tired."

"Oh, good." Knuckles nodded. With that, they headed off into the city.

**Next time, on Emerald Quest - Knuckles and Big enter the city, where Dr. Eggman has laid a nasty surprise for the trio.**

**Stay tuned, folks!**


End file.
